India's Clean-Air Innovation at Risk

Nationwide Assessment by WeNaturalists

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Fragmented datasets, slow regulatory approvals, and declining early-stage capital are hindering climate solutions in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Indore, Surat, Lucknow, and other major cities. Recently, WeNaturalists released a nationwide assessment highlighting urgent challenges in India's clean-air innovation ecosystem.

On December 16, 2025, WeNaturalists released a nationwide assessment highlighting urgent challenges in India's clean-air innovation ecosystem. Based on more than 1.2 million environmental observations and insights from over 300 climate innovators, NGOs, and researchers, the study finds that systemic hurdles including fragmented air-quality datasets, shrinking early-stage funding, and regulatory delays are slowing the development and deployment of clean-air technologies across over 70 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune, Indore, Surat, and Lucknow.