Delhi's perennial air crisis: Time for sustainable solution

Severe and "Hazardous"—two words that flashed across everyone's thoughts in conversations about North India's air quality. November 2024 was another year where Delhi's air quality index (AQI) reached alarming levels, surging past 400 and even touching hazardous readings above 1,000 at some monitoring stations.

- Ankur Bansal

Severe and "Hazardous"—two words that flashed across everyone's thoughts in conversations about North India's air quality. November 2024 was another year where Delhi's air quality index (AQI) reached alarming levels, surging past 400 and even touching hazardous readings above 1,000 at some monitoring stations. Delhi NCR's air pollution crisis has become a perennial issue, particularly during winter months when a combination of seasonal human activities is exacerbated by the meteorological conditions.

The blame every year shifts to attributing the pollution levels to the stubble burning and the firecrackers, with governments swinging into action, sometimes suo motu or sometimes directed by the apex court to activate the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to mitigate the crisis. While this step was necessary, it only scratches the surface of a much larger, systemic problem that continues to plague the city—Delhi's air pollution crisis requires more than just episodic emergency measures.

The crisis requires a shift toward data-driven, technology-enabled solutions, moving beyond temporary fixes and embracing long-term systemic change. While stubble burning in neighboring states continues to contribute to Delhi's poor air quality, this is not the singular cause. The bigger problem lies in how dispersed sources of pollution—such as vehicular emissions, dust from construction activities, and industrial discharges—interact with meteorological conditions to exacerbate the crisis.