'Most important public health crisis in India': Jairam Ramesh on rising PM 2.5 levels

New Delhi, Dec 12 (PTI) Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday expressed concern over rising PM 2.5 levels and called for an immediate review the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which have not been updated since they were promulgated in 2009.

Ramesh, the Congress General Secretary (In-charge, Communications) and a former environment minister, shared a media report on X which cited a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health that stated the entire population in India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels exceed WHO guidelines.

"Our present standard for PM2.5 (that is, particulate matter of size 2.5 micrograms per cubic meter) is 8 times the WHO guideline for annual exposure and 4 times the guideline for 24-hour exposure," he said.

Despite the launch of the National Clean Air Program (2017), PM2.5 levels have continued to rise and shockingly, now every single person in India lives in areas where PM2.5 levels far exceeds the WHO guidelines, he said.

"According to a recent study by a team of researchers in India, Sweden, Israel and USA, 6.6 million deaths between 2009 and 2019 can be attributed to PM2.5 levels. This is not just an environmental and quality of life challenge, it is the single most important public health crisis we face," Ramesh said.

The Congress leader said the instinctive response of the government would be to call into question the study itself.

"But we would be doing ourselves a grave dis-service if indeed it were to be dismissed outright," he added.

"We need to immediately review the NCAP and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which have not been updated since they were promulgated in Nov 2009," he said. PTI