Friday, February 14th, 2025

Article: Toxic air in Delhi, what can India learn from China on pollution?

Amit Bhattacharya, New Delhi: It was like a horrible dream. The entire city was under the shadow of poisonous smog. Whoever came out, his/her eyes would start burning. Many people were coughing so much that even gasping became difficult. Respiratory diseases were affecting everyone. The administration closed schools and big vehicles too. The media started calling it a deluge. To you, all this must be seeming like today’s Delhi-Mumbai. But this picture is from Beijing in the early winter of 2013.Delhi to Mumbai: Delhi recorded its worst AQI of this season in mid-November. Over the next few days, it rose to 494, the second-worst AQI so far in the national capital. Authorities implemented Stage-4 GRAP, but air quality continued to oscillate between ‘poor’ and ‘severe’. The toxicity of smog in Lucknow was equivalent to smoking 12 cigarettes simultaneously, whereas the situation in Mumbai was not much different. On Sunday, AQI was recorded at 225 in Worli, Mumbai, toxic smog was seen at Nariman Point and other places.

City in the Mist: For many years, especially with the arrival of winters, not only the Indian capital but also many metro cities like Lucknow, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Patna are facing severe air pollution. The crisis is similar to the situation in Beijing around 2013, when the Chinese capital was known as the pollution capital of the world. The poisonous air of Beijing was causing international embarrassment for Chinese leaders. In March 2013, China’s then-Premier Li Keqiang promised at the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress that he/she would ‘fight firmly to protect the blue sky’. The average PM 2.5 in Beijing in 2013 was 101.5. By 2023 it will come down to 38.98.

Beijing and Delhi: We can learn a lot from China. There are many similarities between China and India in terms of geography, climate and development. Just look at Delhi and Beijing. Both cities are near mountainous areas, which prevent pollutants from spreading easily. As a result, cool winds, humidity and lack of rain during the winter season increases pollution extensively. In Delhi’s case, pollution comes from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and towns in the NCR, while Beijing’s is influenced by Hebei and Tianjin provinces.

Changing target:
When pollution in Beijing reached its peak in 2013, the mayor there promised to reduce the amount of PM2.5 by one-third in four years by 2014. But at the end of 2016, he/she was removed due to not being able to meet his/her target. India launched the National Clean Air Policy in 2019, which aimed to reduce particulate matter in 121 cities by 20-30% over 2017 levels over five years. At the end of 2023, Climate Trends and Respire Living Sciences found that only eight of 46 cities met PM10 targets, while pollution levels actually increased in 22 cities. After this the target of the policy was changed to 2026.

Pollution War: Beijing installed more than 1,000 sensors across the city to monitor PM2.5. Slowed down the pace of construction of new roads and imposed restrictions on parking facilities. Increased public transport and walking facilities. In 2017, Beijing introduced stricter Euro VI vehicle standards. Electric vehicles were promoted. About 5,600 environmental inspectors were deployed in 2017.

60 percent less: These efforts yielded great results. PM2.5 levels reduced by 60% by 2023. According to a report by the University of Chicago, it took decades for the US to achieve such a huge reduction, while China did it in a few years. Between 2013 and 2020, China accounted for 75% of global air pollution reduction. Can’t we do something similar in India?

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