Editorial: Apathy in the air

A noxious mix of vapours in New Delhi is shaving off nearly 12 years from a resident’s life expectancy

There is a familiar air to the global reports on air pollution. Year after year, ominous signals emanate from these surveys, bracketing Indian cities among the most polluted in the world, but it is again back to business as usual for policymakers. The latest report has warned that a noxious mix of vapours in New Delhi is shaving off nearly 12 years from a resident’s life expectancy. This reflects the pathetic state of affairs. The Air Quality Life Index 2023 report of the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) — which calculated the global loss in life expectancy across 245 countries and territories — found that Delhi, Noida and Gurugram were the worst global performers. In India, the northern plains — home to nearly 40% of the population — were found to be the worst performers with the average resident losing about eight years of life expectancy due to pollution. The deteriorating air quality reflects the failure of the current set of anti-pollution strategies. No country can achieve economic prosperity without taking care of public health. There is an urgent need to step up investments in state-specific air pollution control strategies to improve population health. Vehicles are one of the major sources of air pollution in India, especially in urban areas. According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment, vehicles contribute to 40% of the PM2.5 (Particulate Matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres) emissions in Delhi, 30% in Mumbai, 28% in Kolkata and 20% in Bengaluru.

Industries are another major contributor to air pollution in India, especially in the northern and eastern regions. According to a report by Greenpeace India, 139 of the 287 coal-based thermal power plants in India violated the emission norms set by the Ministry of Environment in 2019. These plants emitted sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, lead and mercury. Power plants, factories and households that use coal, oil or natural gas as fuel also contribute to air pollution by emitting greenhouse gasses. According to the World Bank Group, India is the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, after China and the United States. In northern States, air quality is worsened by stubble burning, denuding of the Aravalli ranges and unchecked vehicular emissions. The government needs to take the health hazards of pollution seriously. Some of the major challenges in tackling air pollution in the country are weak enforcement and compliance with existing regulations and standards that can prevent polluting activities, inadequate financing and incentives for clean technologies, lack of proper research and innovation, low public awareness and mushrooming of unregulated small-scale industries without proper environmental permits or controls. There is a need to develop and promote low-carbon technologies such as solar panels, hydrogen fuel cells, wind turbines, biogas plants and electric vehicles that can reduce the dependence on fossil fuels.

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