Need to dispel myth of human body adapting to air pollution: Expert

During the session, experts underlined the need to raise awareness across all sections of society about the health risks of air pollution and practical steps to reduce exposure.

There is a need to dispel the myth that the human body can adapt to air pollution with prolonged exposure, said Dr Palak Balyan, one of the experts on a panel discussing the health impact of air pollution, on Friday.

Need to dispel myth of human body adapting to air pollution: Expert

He was speaking at a discussion organised by the Collaboration for Air Pollution and Health Effects Research, India (CAPHER-India), a national research network.

Launched in 2021 to study the health effects of air pollution in the country, CAPHER hosted the panel discussion to explore how scientific evidence can drive stronger public health action. During the session, experts underlined the need to raise awareness across all sections of society about the health risks of air pollution and practical steps to reduce exposure.

Dr S D Attri, technical member and chairperson of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), said, “There is a need for the public to get real-time data on air quality so that they can take preventive measures and avoid the health risks associated with air pollution.”

He added that dust and smoke are the major contributors to Delhi-NCR’s pollution load, accounting for about 60-70%, and tackling these two sources could significantly ease the problem.

The discussion also featured Dr Parvaiz Koul, pulmonologist; Dr Manisha Mishra, professor at the School of Climate Change and Sustainability, Azim Premji University; and Aarti Khosla, founder of Climate Trends, a think tank.

The experts noted that air pollution affects people of all ages and has long-term consequences. Despite widespread awareness of the issue, they said, public understanding of everyday pollution sources—such as vehicle emissions, biomass fuel use, and waste burning—remains limited.

Dr Manisha Mishra said, “While there are policies in place to tackle air pollution, there is now a greater need to identify and address local hotspots rather than implementing uniform measures across cities and states.”

The panel also stressed the importance of stronger community participation, better coordination among departments, and consistent public health communication to ensure that evidence-based research translates into action on the ground.