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Each winter, Delhi plunges into its familiar grey haze, and India relies on quick fixes—cloud seeding, smog towers, water sprinkling, odd-even rules, and festival crackdowns. These visible measures promise action but rarely improve air quality.
Recently, public frustration was evident when 50–60 peaceful protesters gathered near India Gate against the smog; five were detained despite the protest being nonviolent, highlighting growing anger at recurring pollution and weak institutional responses.
What is air Pollution and how is it measured in India?
Air Pollution: Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulates or biological materials into the atmosphere that cause discomfort, disease, or death to humans.
Measurement of Air Pollution In India:
- In India, air pollution is measured according to the National Air Quality Index developed by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2014.
- The measurement of air quality in the NAQI framework is based on eight pollutants, namely- Particulate Matter (PM10), Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone (O3), Ammonia (NH3) and Lead (Pb).
Recent data shows Delhi’s air quality at its worst in three years, prompting GRAP activation and emergency measures like cloud seeding by IIT Kanpur and the Delhi government, though their effectiveness remains limited by low cloud moisture and high cloud bases.
What are the key drivers of Air Pollution in Delhi?
1. Stubble Burning: Crop residue burning in Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan contributes up to 35% of Delhi’s PM2.5 levels during October–November. Emissions include methane, carbon monoxide, VOCs, and carcinogenic hydrocarbons.
2. Vehicular Pollution: Delhi hosts one of the highest numbers of registered private vehicles in India. Vehicles contribute approximately 40% of particulate load in the city.
3. Construction and Open Waste Burning: Dust from construction debris and landfill burning aggravates air quality. Construction alone accounts for roughly 10% of particulate pollution.
4. Meteorological Factors: Low winter wind speeds, northwesterly winds carrying dust from Pakistan and Afghanistan, and temperature inversions trap pollutants in the lower atmosphere.
5. Urban Development and Grey Infrastructure: Rapid urbanization, shrinking green cover, and real estate expansion reduce the city’s ecological buffers. Promotion of car ownership and poorly planned road widening exacerbate vehicular emissions.
6. Firecrackers: Seasonal burning during festivals like Diwali adds to acute pollution spikes.
What are the harmful effects of air pollution?
The harmful effects of air pollution have been tabulated below:
| Economic effects | (1) Leads to loss of labour productivity, GDP and per capita income levels. (The Confederation of Indian Industry estimates that air pollution costs Indian businesses $95 billion, or 3 per cent of India’s GDP every year). (Poor air amounts to about Rs 7 lakh crore of annual economic loss, which is more than a third of our annual GST collection) (2) Air pollution reduces agricultural crop yields and commercial forest yields. |
| Human Health Effects | (1) Air pollution leads to multiple health conditions including respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer. (2) As per the Global Burden of Disease comparative risk assessment for 2015, air pollution exposure contributes to approximately 1.8 million premature deaths and loss of 49 million disability adjusted life-years (DALYs) in India. |
| Environment | (1) Acid Rain: Damages crops, natural vegetation, soil chemistry and leads to damage to ancient monuments (Taj Mahal Yellowing). (2) Eutrophication of water bodies: Increases nitrogen intake of freshwater bodies leading to Eutrophication. |
Government Initiatives to Combat Pollution
1. Cloud Seeding (Artificial Rain): Temporary reduction of particulate matter, constrained by insufficient cloud moisture.
2. Crop Residue Management (CRM) Scheme: Subsidies for turbo happy seeders, rotavators, and other machinery to reduce stubble burning.
3. Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM): Statutory body established in 2021 to tackle air pollution and coordinate efforts across NCR and adjoining regions.
4. Vehicular Pollution Control: Transition from BS-IV to BS-VI fuels, promotion of electric vehicles, and odd-even traffic rules.
5. Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP): Measures include shutdowns of thermal plants, bans on construction, and deployment of anti-smog guns and water sprinklers at hotspots.
Structural and Institutional Challenges
1. Institutional Fragmentation: No single body has full authority or accountability, creating gaps in coordination across NCR states.
2. Incentive Misalignment: Quick fixes are politically attractive—they are inexpensive, easy to deploy, and visibly responsive, even if they fail to reduce public exposure effectively.
3. Intellectual Trap: Solutions conceived in elite institutions or think tanks often underestimate real-world implementation constraints.
4. Western Trap: Importing foreign “best practices” without adapting them to India’s urban density, informal economy, and administrative limitations reduces effectiveness.
To overcome these traps, India requires coordinating institutions, professional science managers, long-term budgets, and multi-year plans that can adapt global solutions to local realities.
Way Ahead
1. Expand AQI Monitoring: Install adequate air quality monitoring stations and deploy hyperlocal sensors to track real-time pollution levels.
2. Empower Authorities: Give agencies the power to act on hyperlocal data for pre-emptive measures, such as penalizing construction or industrial violations immediately.
3. National Nodal Authority: Establish a constitutionally empowered nodal body to coordinate air pollution management across states and sectors with clear timelines.
4. Independent Regional Commissions: Set up city-level commissions like CAQM in other metro regions (e.g., Mumbai, Chennai) to enforce regulations across geographical and jurisdictional boundaries.
5. Stricter Industrial Guidelines: Enforce uniform pollutant reporting, emission reduction targets, and accountability frameworks for industries throughout the production-consumption-recycling chain.
6. Promote Clean-Air Investments: Encourage investment in green mobility, clean energy, and sustainable cooking solutions to reduce pollution while creating economic opportunities.
7. Funds and Capacity Building: Allocate finance and train manpower in urban local bodies and State Pollution Control Boards for effective monitoring, enforcement, and long-term air quality management.
8. Public Awareness and Incentives: Educate and incentivize civil society and stakeholders, e.g., farmers, to adopt sustainable practices like circular economy solutions for crop residue.
9. Sustainable Transport: Enhance public transport, discourage private vehicle use through parking management and taxes, and meet city transport targets for cleaner mobility.
10. Agriculture, Construction, and Waste Management: Limit stubble burning through crop and irrigation practices, manage construction dust, and improve waste handling to reduce airborne pollutants; incorporate lessons from global cities like London, Singapore, and Beijing.
| Read More- The Hindu UPSC Syllabus- GS 3- Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment. |
