Even as PM2.5 dominates air pollution conversations, vehicle emissions of nitrogen oxides, black carbon and ozone remain among the most significant yet under-addressed public health threats, experts said on the first day of Urban Adda 2026.
“Long-term exposure is linked to lung diseases, cardiovascular problems and even conditions such as Alzheimer’s. “Most vehicles meet emission standards during type-approval testing, but real-world emissions can be significantly different. Sharma called for modernising vehicle emission testing through technologies such as remote sensing and automated monitoring systems. He also highlighted the need to reduce exposure among vulnerable populations, including traffic police personnel and street vendors who spend long hours near roads. “Ozone is formed when nitrogen oxides from vehicle emissions react with volatile organic compounds in the presence of heat. She called for expanded monitoring of ozone and its precursor gases, particularly in high-traffic urban areas. The experts called for a shift in policy discussions from focusing solely on pollutant concentrations and AQI readings to also considering exposure and toxicity.
Dr Sarath Guttikunda, founder of UrbanEmissions.Info, said transport-related emissions account for roughly 20-30% of total emissions in many Indian cities, underscoring the need for sustained interventions.
Speaking at a session on “Health Impacts from Vehicle Emissions”, experts from the health, transport and air-quality sectors called for stronger monitoring systems, tighter regulation of on-road emissions and policies that focus not just on pollution levels but also on human exposure. Abhishek Kumar, CEO and co-founder of Lung Care Foundation, said air pollution affects nearly every organ of the body. Both short-term and long-term exposure are harmful and need to be reduced urgently,” he said. Dr Virinder Sharma, former member (technical) of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), described the air being breathed in Delhi and the Indo-Gangetic Plain as a “cocktail” of particulate matter and harmful gases such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and ozone. Sharma said a major gap remained in monitoring emissions from vehicles once they are on the road While vehicle emission standards have progressively tightened from Bharat Stage-I to Bharat Stage-VI. Our Pollution Under Control (PUC) system is still in a very infancy stage and does not adequately capture fine particulate pollution and other harmful pollutants,” he said. Ananya Mahajan, research lead at Sustainable Futures Collaborative, said greater attention was needed on ground-level pollutants such as ozone and black carbon and their impact on health. It is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke and heart disease, and children and older adults are particularly vulnerable,” she said. Dr Gazala Habib, associate professor at IIT Delhi’s department of civil engineering, said black carbon – fine soot particles formed by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, particularly diesel – can penetrate deep into the lungs and contribute to adverse health effects.
