Lessons From Beijing

In just four years, Beijing has improved its air quality by setting time-bound targets and implementing a comprehensive regional action plan

- Chandra Bhushan

NOT LONG ago, Delhi and Beijing competed with each other for the infamous tag of being the world’s most polluted city. Beijing beat Delhi hands down till the mid noughties. Then things changed. While air quality in Beijing began to improve steadily, pollution levels in Delhi kept rising. In 2017, the yearly average concentration of PM 2.5 (particulate matter with a size of 2.5 microns or less) in Beijing was less than half that of Delhi. The number of “very unhealthy” days (when the pollution levels were very high) in Delhi was also four times that of Beijing. So, how has Beijing succeeded in reducing pollution while we continue to struggle?