Congress Demands Overhaul of National Clean Air Plan, Calls Pollution a ‘National Security Threat’

The Congress called for a radical revision of the National Clean Air Program and an urgent update of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards on Sunday, stating that the air pollution situation in India is no longer merely a respiratory problem but rather a full-fledged assault on our bodies and minds.

Air pollution is a national security threat to our society, healthcare system, and future workforce, according to Congress General Secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh.

"India's air pollution crisis is no longer just a respiratory issue. It's now a full-blown assault on our brains and bodies," the former environment minister said on X.

In 2023, approximately 2 million deaths in India were linked to air pollution - a 43 per cent jump since 2000, Ramesh pointed out.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and even dementia were responsible for about 90 per cent of these deaths, according to Ramesh. India has about 186 air pollution deaths per 100,000 people, which is more than ten times the incidence in high-income nations (17/100,000).

He added that around 70 per cent of deaths in India from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), 33 per cent from lung cancer, 25 per cent from heart disease, and 20 per cent from diabetes are caused by air pollution.

According to him, air pollution was responsible for over 626,000 dementia deaths worldwide in 2023. Exposure to fine particulate matter, which is measured in microgrammes per cubic metre (PM2.5), has also been related to brain damage and rapid cognitive decline.

"Air pollution is a public-health catastrophe and a national-security threat to our society, our healthcare system, and our future workforce," Ramesh said.

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

"We need to radically revise the NCAP and also urgently update the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) that were last promulgated after a careful exercise in November 2009," Ramesh said.

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

With PTI inputs.