Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 04:20am on 03 Dec 2025,Wednesday Weather & Environment
Delhi reported over 2 lakh acute respiratory illness (ARI) cases across six central hospitals during 2022-2024, with the Health Ministry attributing the surge to worsening air pollution. Emergency ARI cases totaled 67,054 in 2022, 69,293 in 2023, and 68,411 in 2024, while hospital admissions rose from 9,878 to 10,819. Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav identified polluted air as a "triggering factor" for respiratory diseases. Similar trends emerged in Mumbai and Chennai. An ICMR study covering 33,213 emergency patients found strong correlations between pollution levels and respiratory visits. The National Centre for Disease Control now operates 230 surveillance sites nationwide to monitor these health trends.
