Is Climate Change Slowly Poisoning Our Brains and Fuelling Dementia?

KAKALI DAS

Breathing clean air is a basic human need, yet for millions living in Delhi, even breathing has become a risk. This worsening air has led to a sharp rise in people reporting respiratory problems. Hospitals have seen more patients complaining of breathing difficulty, coughing, chest tightness and eye irritation.

Some pulmonologists have even advised people who can afford it to leave Delhi for a few weeks until the air improves. While adults may still have options, it is children and young people who end up paying the heaviest price.

Is Climate Change Slowly Poisoning Our Brains and Fuelling Dementia?

Every year, as winter approaches, Delhi welcomes the season not with cool air but with a thick blanket of smog. The morning after Diwali is often the most disturbing. This year was no different. Delhi woke up to a suffocating haze that pushed air quality into severe and very severe categories. The city looked like a scene from a dystopian film, where visibility dropped sharply and the air smelled of smoke and chemicals.

Sadly, this has become a normalized yearly event. Firecrackers, crop residue burning, vehicular emissions, construction dust and weather conditions together create a toxic mix that chokes the capital.

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Air pollution is not just an environmental issue. It is a serious public health crisis. The effects of breathing polluted air are especially harmful for children. After malnutrition, air pollution is the biggest risk factor for death among children under the age of five.

This has been clearly stated in the State of Global Air Report 2024. Young children, especially newborns, are highly vulnerable because their organs are still developing. When they breathe polluted air, harmful particles enter their lungs and bloodstream, affecting multiple body systems. This increases the risk of illness and even death at a very young age.

Pregnant women exposed to polluted air face higher risks during pregnancy. Studies show that exposure to contaminated air increases the chances of premature birth. Babies born prematurely often have weaker immune systems and face long term health problems. Air pollution also increases the risk of low birth weight, which can affect a child’s physical and mental development throughout life. These impacts are invisible at first but follow children into adulthood.

Air pollution is widely known to cause asthma, respiratory infections and even childhood cancers. However, its effects go far beyond the lungs. Scientific evidence now shows that polluted air harms brain development and cognitive function in children. Children who grow up breathing dirty air may struggle with learning, memory and attention. Over time, this exposure increases their risk of developing long term diseases such as heart problems later in life.

According to UNICEF, 35 percent of children in India under the age of five are stunted. India has the highest number of stunted children in the world, with around 40.6 million children affected. Stunting is often linked to malnutrition, but air pollution also plays a significant role.

A research paper titled Air Pollution and Child Development in India, published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, found that an increase in fine particulate matter levels by one standard deviation leads to nearly a five percentage point rise in stunting and a 2.4 percentage point increase in severe stunting. This shows that polluted air directly affects children’s physical growth.

Fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, is one of the most dangerous pollutants. These particles are so small that they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. During winter and especially around Diwali, PM2.5 levels spike sharply.

According to the State of Global Air Report 2025, PM2.5 levels rise by almost 49 percent on Diwali night compared to the previous evening. This sudden increase exposes millions to extremely harmful air in just a few hours.

The burden of air pollution is not equally shared across the world. The global South carries a much heavier share of the disease burden linked to polluted air. India and China together account for more than half of global air pollution related deaths. In 2023, these two countries made up about 52 percent of the total deaths caused by air pollution worldwide. That figure translates to roughly two million deaths in a single year.

The health impacts of air pollution extend far beyond respiratory illnesses. Cardiovascular diseases, various cancers and neurological disorders are all linked to long term exposure to polluted air. In recent years, scientists have raised alarm about a new and deeply concerning link between air pollution and dementia.

Dementia has now emerged as the latest addition to the growing list of diseases associated with air pollution. PM2.5 particles can enter the lungs, move into the bloodstream and reach the brain. Once there, they cause inflammation and damage brain tissue. Long term exposure increases the risk of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and mild cognitive impairment, particularly in older adults.

The State of Global Air Report highlights that exposure to PM2.5 also raises the risk of heart disease. Since heart disease itself is a major risk factor for dementia, polluted air indirectly increases dementia risk through multiple pathways. This makes air pollution a silent contributor to brain degeneration.

In 2023, there were about 55 million people living with dementia globally. That year saw 2.2 million deaths linked to dementia and nearly 40 million disability adjusted life years lost. These figures represent years of healthy life lost due to illness and disability. Of these, around 626,000 deaths and 11.6 million lost healthy years were attributed to air pollution. This means nearly 29 percent of global dementia deaths were linked to polluted air.

Once again, the burden is not evenly distributed. People with fewer resources suffer the most. The contribution of air pollution to ischemic heart disease is about 25 percent globally. However, in high income regions, this figure is around seven percent, while in lower income regions it rises to 35 percent. This shows how inequality deepens health risks. Poorer communities often live closer to pollution sources and have less access to healthcare.

Climate change further worsens this crisis. Rising temperatures increase the formation of ground level ozone and worsen air pollution. Heat combined with polluted air increases the incidence of heart and lung diseases. Heatwaves trap pollutants closer to the ground, making the air even more dangerous to breathe. Climate change and air pollution are deeply connected, and together they amplify health risks.

The Indian government has taken steps to address air pollution. Schemes such as the Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana have helped reduce household air pollution by promoting cleaner cooking fuels. Efforts have also been made under the National Clean Air Programme to monitor pollution and reduce emissions. However, these measures are still not enough to bring PM2.5 levels within safe limits.

Despite policies and action plans, enforcement remains weak. Pollution sources continue to operate with little accountability. Construction dust, traffic emissions, industrial pollution and seasonal burning are managed reactively rather than proactively. Emergency measures are announced after air quality reaches dangerous levels, instead of preventing the crisis in the first place.

Air pollution must be treated as a severe public health emergency. It cannot be managed through short term fixes or seasonal bans alone. Policies must be based on scientific evidence and enforced strictly. Long term planning, cleaner energy transitions, better urban design and strong political will are essential.

If meaningful action is not taken, it will be the youngest who suffer the most. Children do not choose the air they breathe. Yet polluted air shapes their bodies, minds and futures. From stunted growth to damaged lungs and impaired brain development, the cost of inaction is lifelong.

The annual smog in Delhi is not just an inconvenience or a seasonal nuisance. It is a warning sign of a deeper failure to protect public health. Every year that polluted air is allowed to persist, thousands of lives are shortened and millions of children are harmed in ways that cannot be easily reversed.

Clean air is not a luxury. It is a right. Until air pollution is addressed with the urgency it deserves, Delhi and many other cities will continue to sacrifice their youngest citizens to a crisis that is entirely preventable.

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