India’s air pollution crisis now full-blown assault on brains, bodies: Congress

India’s air pollution crisis is no longer just a respiratory problem but a full-scale attack on our brains and bodies, the Congress said on Sunday, October 26, 21025, and called for a radical revision of the National Clean Air Program and an urgent update of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Air pollution is a public health disaster and a national security threat to our society, our healthcare system and our future workforce, Congress chief communications secretary Jairam Ramesh argued.

“India’s air pollution crisis is no longer just a respiratory problem. It is now a full-scale attack on our brains and bodies,” the former Environment Minister told X.

Mr. Ramesh pointed out that nearly 2 million deaths in India in 2023 are linked to air pollution; This is an increase of 43% since 2000.

Nearly 9 in 10 of these deaths are attributed to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes and even dementia, he said.

Mr Ramesh said India recorded about 186 deaths due to air pollution per 100,000 people, more than 10 times the rate in high-income countries (17/100,000).

He also stated that in India, around 70% of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) deaths, around 33% of lung cancer deaths, around 25% of heart disease deaths and around 20% of diabetes deaths are due to air pollution.

“Exposure to fine particulate matter, measured in micrograms per cubic meter (PM2.5), has now also been linked to brain damage and accelerated cognitive decline, with approximately 626,000 dementia deaths globally attributed to air pollution in 2023,” he said.

“Air pollution is a public health disaster and a national security threat to our society, our healthcare system and our future workforce,” Mr. Ramesh said.

“Our current standard for PM2.5 is 8 times the WHO annual exposure guideline and 4 times the 24-hour exposure guideline. Despite the launch of the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) in 2017, PM2.5 levels have continued to rise and surprisingly every single person in India now lives in areas where PM2.5 levels far exceed WHO guidelines,” he said.

“We need to radically revise NCAP and also urgently update the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which were last published after careful study in November 2009,” Mr. Ramesh said.

The congressional leader also shared the State of Global Air 2025 report on X, which provides a comprehensive analysis of data on air quality and health impacts for countries around the world in 2023.