India’s major metropolitan cities are reporting a worrying rise in acute respiratory illness (ARI) cases, and worsening air pollution may be a contributing factor. Between 2022 and 2024, Delhi alone recorded more than 2 lakh ARI cases, with thousands of patients requiring hospitalisation. On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health linked this surge to deteriorating air quality—while also noting that the causal pathways remain complex.
Polluted Air Identified as a Trigger for Respiratory Diseases
Responding to a question by MP Dr. Vikramjit Singh Sahney in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav stated that polluted air acts as a “triggering factor” for respiratory diseases. He added that the government is closely tracking the deteriorating air quality in urban centres through an expanding national surveillance system.
Delhi Shows Consistently High ARI Burden
Government data highlights the scale of the problem. Delhi’s six central hospitals reported:
• 67,054 ARI emergency cases in 2022
• 69,293 cases in 2023
• 68,411 cases in 2024
Hospital admissions also rose steadily—from 9,878 in 2022 to 10,819 in 2024.
Similar spikes occurred in Mumbai and Chennai, where thousands sought emergency care for breathing problems during periods of severe pollution.
Multiple Factors Shape Vulnerability
According to the Health Ministry, the impact of polluted air differs across individuals. Factors such as food habits, occupation, socio-economic conditions, immunity, and medical history influence how severely someone may be affected, making certain groups more vulnerable than others.
Expanding Surveillance to Capture Real-Time Trends
To better capture these health patterns, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) now operates more than 230 sentinel surveillance sites across 30 States and Union Territories. Additionally, the government launched digital ARI surveillance in August 2023 through the Integrated Health Information Portal, enabling quicker detection and response.
New Evidence From ICMR Multi-Site Study
As reported by TOI, adding to the growing body of evidence, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) conducted a multi-site study involving 33,213 emergency room patients with respiratory symptoms across five hospitals. The study observed a clear trend: as pollution levels increased, emergency visits for respiratory distress also rose.
Association Strong, But Causation Not Yet Proven
Despite the consistent association between pollution levels and respiratory emergencies, the Health Ministry emphasized that the study cannot conclusively prove causation. However, the findings align with global research that shows similar patterns linking worsening air quality with acute respiratory illnesses.