India, Nov. 24 -- Right to clean air is about inter-generational equity. Traditionally, the health impacts of air pollution have been understood in terms of the relation between dose and response at an undifferentiated population scale. But over the years, more nuanced approaches have evolved to investigate the modifiers and specific impacts on groups differentiated by age, gender, socio-economic and nutritional status, and a range of other factors that define the vulnerabilities and underpin marginalisation.

Evidence is stark on infant deaths during the first month of life due to lower respiratory infections; low birth weight and preterm births affected by air pollution (refer to preceding chapters). Foetal exposure to pollutants is on ...