India's Air Quality Standards Diverge from WHO Guidelines, Says Govt, Despite Progress in Reducing Pollution
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India's air quality standards are not aligned with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, the Union environment ministry has informed Rajya Sabha. The ministry clarified that the WHO guidelines serve only as a guidance document, and countries set their own standards based on local factors such as geography, socio-economic status, and national circumstances. The ministry's response came in response to questions from Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP V Sivadasan, who sought information on India's global rankings in air quality indices since 2020. The ministry also highlighted its efforts to improve air quality, including the Swachh Vayu Survekshan, which ranks 130 cities based on air quality improvement measures. India's air quality standards are significantly higher than the WHO's recommended limits. According to the 2009 National Ambient Air Quality Standards, the acceptable PM2.5 exposure limit over 24 hours is 60µg/m³, four times the new WHO limit. However, the ministry has taken steps to improve air quality in Delhi-NCR, with a 90% reduction in fire incidents during the paddy harvesting season in 2025 compared to 2022. The number of good air quality days in Delhi has increased to 200 in 2025 from 110 in 2016, and the average AQI of Delhi for the period January-November in the current year has been recorded as 187, down from 213 in 2018. The ministry has attributed the improvement to focussed policy interventions and continued strengthening of field-level implementation.
