“If we want to reduce pollution, we need to set targets for every sector – including power generation, industry and transport – not just vehicle entry, construction and stubble burning,” says Manoj Kumar, an analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
“We know how much each sector and each state contributes to pollution. We can set targets to reduce emissions from each of them over the next five years.”
Bosu factors out that an problem which does not get enough consideration is secondary pollution – when gases in the air react with daylight, water vapour and other substances to type dangerous particles that contribute to pollution.
“Pollution is not just caused by biomass burning or vehicles,” he says. “Dust being stirred up from the ground, coal and fly ash, materials burned at brick kilns and the large-scale burning of urban waste are also contributing to the problem. And much of this is still not being stopped.”
Delhi’s pollution drawback is also affected by what occurs outside the metropolis. Pollutants journey into Delhi from neighbouring states and other elements of northern India, worsening the scenario, Bosu explains.
This means that measures taken by Delhi can obtain only so much. Tackling the drawback requires neighbouring states and the wider northern area to work collectively, he provides.
In the meantime, pollution is harming people’s health every day.
During winter, authorities monitoring stations in Delhi ceaselessly file Air Quality Index (AQI) readings above 300, categorised as “very poor”.
On notably dangerous days, readings can attain 500, the highest level on India’s scale. That does not imply pollution can’t rise further, only that home trackers do not file it. International trackers such as Swiss-based IQAir have recorded readings close to 1,000 on some days.
The World Health Organization recommends average PM2.5 ranges over 24 hours should not exceed 15 micrograms per cubic metre. In Delhi, ranges are usually at more than 25 instances that restrict during pollution season.
Dr Manoj Goel, pulmonology unit head at Fortis Memorial Research Institute close to Delhi, says these tiny particles “can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammation and affecting multiple organs”.
Even short-term publicity can cause throat irritation, coughing, wheezing and breathlessness. It can also worsen current coronary heart and lung situations.
A 2025 report, exterior by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago estimated that air pollution could cut back life expectancy in Delhi by up to 8.2 years.
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