The pollution caused by traffic is affecting the health of children as well as their education. The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has conducted a study on the impact of traffic smog in Gurugram. According to the results of the study, a total of 94,859 school days of students were lost due to traffic-related pollution. The ICCT study, based on the year 2025, outlines the impact of smoke from road transport on children and adolescents aged 5 to 18 years.

What does 94,859 school days mean?

A study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) showed that 94,859 school days of school children were lost due to traffic fumes. There are 94,859 school days based on the calendar. This is the total number of days affected by children missing school due to pollution. If understood this way, the study underlines that in 2025, 431 children could not go to school for the whole year due to pollution.

The results of the study underscore the educational damage caused by traffic pollution. Studies show that if children cannot go to school because of pollution, they lose classroom time, which cannot easily be compensated.

New cases of asthma have also been reported

A study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) also underlines that 89 new cases of asthma have also been reported due to vehicular smoke, an estimate. Thus, in the year 2025 it is expected that one new case of asthma will be reported every 4 days. Smoke emitted from vehicles has a direct effect on children’s lungs. It may be noted that around 5 lakh vehicles come to Gurugram every day from Delhi and other parts of the National Capital Region (NCR).

Change in school commuting patterns

A study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) has recommended effective measures to curb this, under which zero-emission school buses, two-wheeler and three-wheeler vehicles and a large-scale shift towards zero-emission vehicles can curb pollution to some extent. The study also said that nearly three-quarters of the potential health benefits could be achieved by making every vehicle registered in Gurugram electric.