Delhi’s toxic air is harming unborn children! Experts’ severe health warning to expecting mothers and other vulnerable groups

financialexpress.com:

Delhi Air Pollution: Amid political blame game and court orders, the National Capital’s air quality continues to worsen. On Tuesday, Delhi’s overall air quality slightly improved as the Air Quality Index (AQI) level reached ‘very poor’ category after being in the ‘severe’ category for five consecutive days.

The AQI in the national capital stood at 394 (very poor), a minor improvement from the 421 recorded the previous day at 4 PM.

Moreover, the Supreme Court slammed the central and state governments for blaming each other for the Delhi air pollution issue. To minimise the impact, the authorities have suspended physical classes, except for Classes 10 and 12, until November 10 and the odd-even car rationing system will return from November 13 till 20.

Although Delhi witnessed a marginal dip in pollution levels with respect to AQI, the concentration of PM2.5 exceeded the government-prescribed safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre by seven to eight times in the capital. According to media reports, it was 30 to 40 times the healthy limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Dr Amit Gupta, Senior Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist, Motherhood Hospital, highlighted that the toxic air pollution in Delhi NCR poses a grave threat to children, expecting mothers and increasingly concerning risks for their developing unborn children.

“Surprisingly, these past 5/7 days, we have witnessed a concerning trend due to the pollution and smog in Delhi NCR, which is just the beginning of the season. We are observing a significant increase in pediatric cases, with children suffering from cough, cold, allergies, wheezing, and asthma. The situation is slowly becoming alarming. The winter has