Prakash Javadekar admits high ozone levels, rejects reports of reduced life expectancy due to air pollution

Ozone was a dominant pollutant in Delhi for 95 days in the last three years, the government told Parliament on Friday, while acknowledging its rising levels in the national capital. According to the data presented by Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in the Lok Sabha, ozone was reported as a prominent pollutant for 95 days in Delhi and for 11, 48, eight and 49 days in Faridabad, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida respectively in the last three years.
The minister, however, rejected the reports on life expectancy being reduced in India and children dying due to air pollution and rising ozone levels, saying there was no conclusive data to establish that. Responding to multiple queries on the impact of air pollution, Javadekar said it might trigger respiratory ailments but there was nothing to establish a direct link of mortality to air pollution. "Various organisations/institutes, from time to time, have been publishing estimates of mortality/morbidity attributable to environmental pollution based on models, simulations and extrapolations.

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