Delhi hospitals record more than 2 lakh acute respiratory cases in 3 years

More than 2,00,000 cases of acute respiratory illness (ARI) were reported at six central government hospitals in Delhi between 2022 and 2024, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told Parliament, with more than 30,000 of those patients requiring admission. The figures, which cover emergency-room presentations and inpatient numbers at institutions including AIIMS, Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia, Lady Hardinge group hospitals, the National Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases and Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, underline a sustained burden on tertiary care services as pollution peaks in the capital.

The hospitals logged 67,054 ARI presentations in 2022, 69,293 in 2023 and 68,411 in 2024, while admissions rose from about 9,874 in 2022 to 10,819 in 2024, according to the government reply. Medical staff have reported steady streams of patients with bronchitis, exacerbations of asthma, pneumonia and other breathing difficulties during high-pollution periods, with a notable rise in paediatric attendances.

The ministry cautioned that the data show an association rather than a proven causal link between pollution and the rise in emergency visits. "Analysis suggests that an increase in pollution levels was associated with an increase in the number of patients attending emergency rooms. However, this study design cannot provide confirmation that the association is causal," the government said in its written reply to Parliament. The statement also noted that multiple factors, including occupation, pre-existing disease, nutrition and socio-economic conditions, influence individual susceptibility.

Delhi’s air quality has repeatedly slipped into hazardous categories during the winter months, when falling temperatures, low wind speed and inversion layers trap pollutants close to ground level, and seasonal stubble burning in neighbouring states adds to the load. For several weeks, the city’s average Air Quality Index has been well above limits recommended by the World Health Organisation, and government monitoring on some mornings has recorded readings around the upper 300s on the AQI scale. This level poses health risks even to otherwise healthy people.

Impact and reactions

Public health experts and clinicians have drawn attention to the broader impacts of sustained exposure to fine particulates, PM₂.₅ in particular, including increased hospitalisation, greater severity of respiratory infection in children and older adults and higher risk for people with heart disease or diabetes. Hospitals in and around the capital report that waiting rooms remain busy during smog episodes, and that demand for outpatient and emergency services rises sharply when air quality worsens.

The parliamentary disclosure has prompted renewed calls for stronger, coordinated measures to cut emissions from traffic and industry, expand public transport and accelerate controls on seasonal crop-residue burning in adjoining states. A petition seeking urgent measures to curb hazardous air pollution is due for hearing in the Delhi High Court, and the Supreme Court has on previous occasions drawn attention to the city’s air-quality crisis. Policy observers say sustained reduction will require implementation of both local mitigation and regional co-operation on agricultural burning and industrial emissions.

Meanwhile, government forecasting and monitoring agencies continue to advise vulnerable groups to limit outdoor exposure on high-pollution days and to use protective measures such as air purifiers indoors and N95-equivalent masks outdoors. At the same time, health facilities prepare for surges in respiratory cases during the winter season.