📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Health
Bhardwaj Warns: Tampering with AQI Data Endangers Public Health
✍️ Amar Ujala · Delhi
🗓 06 Nov 2026, 07:33 PM
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Health official Bhardwaj cautioned that manipulating air‑quality index figures jeopardises citizens' health, urging transparency in reporting.
Delhi-based health expert Bhardwaj has raised concerns over recent allegations of tampering with Air Quality Index (AQI) data. In a statement to Amar Ujala, he emphasized that altering pollution metrics undermines public health safeguards and hampers effective response measures.
Bhardwaj explained that accurate AQI reporting is essential for informing citizens about hazardous air conditions, guiding vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory ailments. Any distortion of these figures, he warned, could lead to inadequate protective actions and increased exposure to harmful pollutants.
The official called for stricter oversight of monitoring stations and urged authorities to adopt transparent data‑sharing practices. He also appealed to the media and civil society to scrutinise AQI disclosures, ensuring that the public receives reliable information to protect their health.
Bhardwaj explained that accurate AQI reporting is essential for informing citizens about hazardous air conditions, guiding vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory ailments. Any distortion of these figures, he warned, could lead to inadequate protective actions and increased exposure to harmful pollutants.
The official called for stricter oversight of monitoring stations and urged authorities to adopt transparent data‑sharing practices. He also appealed to the media and civil society to scrutinise AQI disclosures, ensuring that the public receives reliable information to protect their health.