World Bank Air Pollution Report: How long will govt live in denial, asks Congress

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday cited a World Bank report on air pollution that says around one million premature deaths happen in the Indo-Gangetic plains and Himalayan foothills annually to ask how long the Modi government would live in "denial". Congresleader and former Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh said his party has been suggesting several measures in view of the deepening AQI-induced health crisis. "The World Bank's report on air pollution titled 'A Breath of Change', is comprehensive, evidence-based, and unambiguous. "It is also, obviously, very timely. It highlights the fact that there are now around 1 million premature deaths annually in this region, which also suffers economic losses of about 10% of regional GDP every year," he said on X.