Highlights:
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India told Parliament that WHO air quality guidelines are advisory, not binding.
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India sets its own standards based on geography, environmental conditions, and socio-economic realities.
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Government says global pollution rankings are not officially recognized.
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India conducts its own annual city air quality ranking under Swachh Vayu Survekshan.
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No conclusive national data directly links deaths solely to air pollution.
India informed Parliament that global air quality guidelines, including those issued by the World Health Organization (WHO), are not mandatory. The government said these guidelines serve only as reference points and are not enforceable on India. The statement was made in the Rajya Sabha on December 11 in response to a question raised by CPI(M) MP V. Sivadasan.
Union Environment Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh said WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines are “not mandatory for any country” and function mainly as indicative benchmarks. He emphasized that the values provided by the global agency act as a “guidance document” meant to help countries determine their own air quality goals over time.
According to the minister, India must consider its own geographic layout, environmental features, background pollution trends, socio-economic conditions, and national circumstances when developing air quality standards. India’s environmental framework therefore prioritizes domestic considerations over universal thresholds.
India questions global pollution rankings
The government also addressed frequent global reports that place India among the most polluted countries. According to Singh, “the global ranking of cities on pollution levels is not being conducted by any official authority.” India has often been placed at the top of lists by private air quality tracking organizations, which rely on their own data models and methodologies.
In the 2024 World Air Quality Report released by IQAir, a Swiss technology company, 13 of the 20 most polluted global cities were located in India. The report identified Byrnihat in Meghalaya as the world’s most polluted city and Delhi as the most polluted capital. Indian officials reiterated that such rankings do not have official endorsement and should not be seen as definitive indicators.
India conducts its own national ranking of city air quality
The environment minister pointed to India’s own annual assessment, the Swachh Vayu Survekshan. The ranking evaluates 130 cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Unlike many global rankings that focus solely on pollutant concentration, India’s evaluation measures improvements, policy implementation, and progress relative to local baselines.
India has formally notified National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 12 pollutants to protect public health and the environment. These standards undergo periodic updates to reflect India’s demographic realities and environmental transitions.
Why India sets its own pollutant breakpoints
The minister said WHO proposes methods for calculating health-based breakpoints but does not mandate universal values for all countries. India develops breakpoints based on domestic variables, including historical exposure, population immunity, climatic adaptability, and other national environmental patterns. This approach allows India to calibrate pollutant thresholds to local health outcomes rather than directly applying global assumptions.
India says no conclusive data links deaths solely to air pollution
Earlier this week, the government told Parliament that scientific evidence does not establish a direct one-to-one link between air pollution and specific deaths at the national level. Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav said air pollution contributes to respiratory and related illnesses, but isolating pollution as the exclusive cause of mortality remains “scientifically challenging.”
The government maintains that India needs a focused, evidence-based framework to address air quality issues without relying entirely on global references. As air quality remains a major public concern across urban and rural regions, policymakers argue that environmental standards must account for India’s unique conditions rather than apply uniform international rules.
