The Union environment ministry continues to treat the current air pollution crisis in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) as a seasonal emergency rather than the national public health crisis that experts say it is. According to a recent report in the Lancet medical journal, air pollution claimed almost 1.81 million lives in India in 2015. Data from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that for most cities in UP, Punjab and Haryana air pollution levels in terms of PM2.5 were comparable to Delhi last week. Though the whole of north India was reeling under the impact of air pollution, the environment ministry continued to focus narrowly on Delhi-NCR. “We have two doctors are in charge of the environment ministry yet this is what is happening,” Dutta said of Harsh Vardhan and Mahesh Sharma, who recently became the junior minister in the environment ministry.

Source: Hindustan Times November 14, 2017 15:56 UTC