Pollution is increasingly linked to infertility and declining sperm quality, beyond respiratory illnesses.
Air pollution cost India an estimated $260 billion in 2024 through lost productivity and premature deaths.
Just 4.48% of organised manufacturing factories reported spending on pollution-control equipment in 2022–23.
Neha and Raghav (name changed), a corporate couple living in Gurgaon, had spent five years trying to conceive. Long working hours gave way to weekend visits to doctors, and gradually, fertility treatment began to shape the purpose of their lives.
The couple went through seven failed in vitro fertilisation or IVF cycles, spending nearly ₹14 lakh along the way. Yet every report suggested that nothing was wrong.
The answer emerged only when their doctor ordered a more comprehensive set of tests. The results revealed high DNA fragmentation in the sperm, a condition that can compromise fertility.
