{"id":12428,"date":"2025-11-22T17:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T11:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goseeko.com\/blog\/?p=12428"},"modified":"2025-11-22T18:02:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T12:32:44","slug":"why-india-must-rethink-the-air-it-breathes-pm2-5-vs-aqi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goseeko.com\/blog\/why-india-must-rethink-the-air-it-breathes-pm2-5-vs-aqi\/","title":{"rendered":"Why India Must Rethink the Air It Breathes \u2014 PM2.5 vs AQI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What number makes you feel like the air quality is improving – AQI 150? 100? Maybe 80? Many of us assume these readings mean the air is \u201cokay.\u201d Here\u2019s the reality check: even at these lower levels, the air can be harmful. Why? Because AQI doesn\u2019t tell us the whole story. PM2.5 does, and it\u2019s the real silent killer that we should be watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Poornima Prabhakaran, Director of the Centre for Health Analytics and Trends (CHART) at Ashoka University emphasises that the true danger isn\u2019t just in the alarming spikes we see every year, but in the everyday pollution levels. These are levels that almost drop to what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe. <\/a>Dr Prabhakaran, is also a senior research scientist at the Center for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC) where she works closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in the government of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to journalist <\/a>Chetan Bhattacharji on Earth Chakra<\/em>,\u00a0 Dr Prabhakaran highlights that a key cause for confusion is the difference between PM2.5 and AQI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PM2.5 refers to pollutant particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres. \u201cThese are tiny enough to enter the lungs, cross into the bloodstream, and affect every organ system,\u201d she explains, PM2.5 is directly linked to asthma, chronic lung disease, heart attacks, and stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AQI, in contrast, is a composite score – a communication tool that converts multiple pollutants into a single number ranging from 0 to 500 in India\u2019s National AQI; other countries and organisations can have AQIs with different limits, for example, 100 or 1,000. \u201cAQI was designed as a messaging indicator,\u201d Dr. Prabhakaran clarifies. \u201cBut PM2.5 is the real danger we should be tracking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What makes the problem worse, she points out, is public complacency. Pollution levels that people casually dismiss as \u2018chaltahai\u2019 are far from safe. \u201cExposure to even low levels of PM2.5 carries serious risks,\u201d she warns. Meaningful change in public behaviour and policy requires India to adopt a scientific, evidence-driven approach to air governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr. Prabhakaran, progress will demand long-term commitment. \u201cWhat we need is sustained political and public will,\u201d she stresses. India is currently not meeting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality recommendations. The WHO\u2019s safe guideline for PM2.5 is an average of 15 micrograms per cubic metre over 24 hours; however the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) chart\u2019s safe limit is 30 micrograms. But recognising PM2.5 as the core threat is a crucial step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If clean air is a fundamental right, then securing it will demand steady, science-backed action from policymakers and citizens alike. Only by focusing on the pollutants that truly harm us, not just the numbers that simplify them, can India begin to reclaim the air it deserves to breathe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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