New Delhi, Strengthening air quality standards and ensuring strong regulation of industrial and energy emissions is critical to protecting the human right to a healthy environment, a UN expert said.. UN expert says strengthening air quality standards critical to keeping environment healthy. Astrid Puentes Riaño, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, recently presented a new report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and called on governments and businesses to address the public health and human rights crisis caused by air pollution.. In a statement to PTI, Riano said that countries are increasingly recognising the human rights implications of air pollution, and India has taken steps through programmes such as its National Air Quality Index and the National Clean Air Programme.. “Strengthening air quality standards, aligning them with the best available science, and ensuring strong regulation of industrial and energy emissions will be critical to protecting the human right to a healthy environment and safeguarding the health and other rights of millions of people exposed to polluted air,” she told PTI.. Referring to countries in Asia, including India, the report ‘Priority towards breathing clean air, protecting public health and ensuring a healthy environment’ notes that the increasing use of fossil fuels by cities continues to drive high urban exposure, despite progress in renewable energy deployment.. “Fireworks, especially in already highly polluted areas, can also cause serious peaks of air pollution, worsening health risks, as seen in Delhi, India and Mexico City,” read the report presented to UNHRC on March 6.. Riano stressed that continued inaction on air pollution allows preventable harm to persist, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable and deepening existing inequalities.. “It especially impacts children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, those living in poverty, and the elderly. When governments and businesses fail to act on known sources of pollution, they fail in their duty to protect people’s health, dignity and fundamental rights,” she said.. The report also outlines multiple measures for national governments, cities, subnational authorities, businesses and international organisations.. It calls for better integration of air quality, human rights and climate policies, along with efforts to map pollution hotspots and focus interventions on protecting vulnerable communities.. When contacted for a reaction on the report, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change did not respond.. Speaking on the references to India in the report, Co-founder of Warrior Moms movement, Bhavreen Kandhari urged clean air standards to be strengthened, legally enforced, and aligned with the latest WHO recommendations.. “Nearly the entire global population breathes air that fails to meet WHO health guidelines. When governments fail to translate guidelines i