Urgent Health Advisory on Air Pollution

India is experiencing extremely poor air quality across several regions, particularly Delhi–NCR & Mumbai. Air pollution has become a significant public health emergency affecting all age groups, with a severe impact on children, pregnant women, senior citizens, and individuals with heart or lung disease. This advisory outlines practical steps for both households that can afford advanced protection and those that cannot.

• Use air purifiers at home where possible, especially in bedrooms and living rooms.

• Wear N95 masks outdoors during periods of high air pollution.

• Avoid outdoor exercise, walking, or sports during peak pollution hours.

• Keep doors and windows closed during morning and evening pollution peaks, and ventilate briefly only when the air quality temporarily improves.

1. Recognize severe pollution episodes as a public health crisis.

2. Enforce strict controls on construction dust, waste burning, and illegal diesel generators.

3. Issue clear AQI-based advisories for schools and outdoor activities.

4. Deploy mobile health clinics during peak pollution episodes.

5. Strengthen public transport networks and last-mile connectivity.

6. Develop a coordinated multi-state clean-air strategy for North India.

7. Expand lung health screening services in government hospitals and primary care centres.

Air pollution affects all Indians across income groups and age categories. Clean air is a basic requirement for good health. Through a combination of personal protection, community responsibility, and coordinated government action, the health impact of the pollution crisis can be significantly reduced, and the well-being of future generations can be protected.

Signed: Air Marshal Dr Padma Bandopadhyay Dr (Lt Gen) B N Shahi Dr A K Bhalla Dr A K Grover Dr Alaka Deshpande Dr Alka Kriplani Dr Ambrish Mithal Dr Anil Kohli Dr Anoop Misra Dr Arvind Lal Dr Arvinder Singh Soin Dr Ashok Gupta Dr Ashok Seth Dr Ashok Vaid Dr Atul Kumar Dr B K Rao Dr Balbir Singh Dr Balram Bhargava Dr Chandrashekhar Meshram Dr D S Rana Dr Daljeet Singh Gambhir Dr Digambar Behera Dr Deepak Sehgal Dr Devendra Triguna Dr Dinesh Bhargava Dr Ganesh K Mani Dr Harsh Kumar Dr Harsh Mahajan Dr Himmatrao Bawaskar Dr J M Hans Dr Jagdish Prasad Dr Jeewan S Titiyal Dr K K Naik Dr K K Sethi Dr Kamalkar Tripathi Dr Kameshwar Prasad Dr Lalit Kumar Dr M Khalilullah Dr M V Padma Srivastava Dr Mahesh Verma Dr Mahipal Sachdev Dr Malvika Sabharwal Dr Manjula Anagani Dr Milind Kirtane Dr Mohsin Wali Dr N K Ganguly Dr N P Gupta Dr Narendra Pandey Dr Naresh Trehan Dr Neelam Kler Dr Neerja Bhatla Dr Nikhil Tandon Dr Nitish Naik Dr Nosher Shroff Dr P K Julka Dr P K Sethi Dr Pradeep Chowbey Dr Praveen Chandra Dr Purshotam Lal Dr R K Grover Dr Ramakant Deshpande Dr Raman Kapur Dr Raminder Grover Dr Randeep Guleria Dr Randhir Sud Dr Ravindra Kolhe Dr S C Manchanda Dr Saroj Chooramani Dr S P Mandal Dr S P Yadav Dr Sandeep Guleria Dr Sanjeev Bagai Dr Saumitra Rawat Dr Shashank Joshi Dr Shiv Kumar Sarin Dr Sudhir Shah Dr T S Kler Dr Tejas Patel Dr Upendra Kaul Dr V Mohan Lt Gen Dr Velu Nair Dr Yash Gulati