Delhi AQI: Medanta’s Dr Naresh Trehan says high pollution levels can trigger heart attacks & respiratory distress

Two days after Diwali, the national capital remained blanketed by haze on Wednesday with air quality in the “very poor” category, Medanta’s Dr Naresh Trehan said that poor air pollution may trigger heart attacks and respiratory issues.

Delhi’s air quality deteriorated slightly on Wednesday as wind speeds dropped again. Its 24-hour AQI stood at 353 at 4 pm, according to the daily national bulletin released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

How does air pollution impact kids?

Dr Naresh Trehan, Chairman and MD of Medanta- The Medicity, told PTI that the recent spike in AQI beyond 500 is concerning, as it severely impacts people with asthma, heart disease, or hypertension.

“High pollution levels, caused by particulate matter and toxic gases, can trigger heart attacks, strokes, and respiratory distress. This recurring crisis during the year-end months, worsened by stubble burning and Diwali fireworks, makes life difficult, especially for the elderly and children. The pollution affects children’s lungs and neurological development. We must enforce stronger regulations and take urgent steps each year to reduce such inhuman levels of pollution and safeguard public health,” he added.

This marks the highest AQI recorded so far this season, up from 351 on Tuesday and 345 on Monday. A visible haze shrouded the city during the day, with winds failing to exceed 7 kmph.

What did Delhi CM Rekha Gupta say?

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta asserted that data on air pollution before and after Diwali showed improvement as compared to last year.

“The pre- and post-Diwali gap (between average AQI) this year is less compared to the previous year, even though firecrackers were allowed this time,” Gupta said at a press conference, as reported by PTI.

Blame game is ‘on’

On the other hand, AAP leaders accused the BJP government in Delhi of shutting down pollution monitoring stations in the city, while Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa blamed stubble burning in Punjab for deteriorating air quality.

Punjab Pollution Control Board data showed the state recording 415 farm fire incidents between September 15 and October 21 this year, down from 1,510 during the same period last year.

The sharp drop comes amid a delayed paddy harvest as rains lashed the state until the first week of October. Damage caused by the floods in Punjab also delayed crop harvest in some places.

AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a statement, alleged that the BJP government “committed data theft at a government level” by showing AQI readings of around 350 when actual levels had crossed 1700, an official statement said.

“Multiple monitoring stations operated by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), India Meteorological Department and IITM went offline at the same time and came back only after winds cleared the air. This is dishonesty and manipulation against the people of Delhi,” he claimed.

No immediate reaction from the Delhi government or the BJP was available on his claim.

Despite a recent uptick in pollution levels in Delhi, the primary cause is not firecrackers but the increasing number of stubble-burning incidents in Punjab, allegedly due to the “negligence” of the AAP government there, a leader claimed.

Here’s what Early Warning System says

According to forecasts from the Centre’s Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS), Delhi’s AQI is expected to stay in the ‘very poor’ category until Saturday, and then fluctuate between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ over the following six days.

Meanwhile, an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) identified October 20 and 21 as the worst PM2.5 pollution days in Delhi this year after January.