NEW DELHI: As Delhi-NCR and other North Indian cities continue to breathe hazardous air with the Air Quality Index (AQI) repeatedly breaching the ‘Severe Plus’ category, a new study calls for an urgent and coordinated response through a regional airshed approach.
An airshed is a geographic area where air pollution is measured and managed as a whole. It recognises that air pollution doesn’t stop at city or state borders—pollutants can travel across regions.
The study ‘Designating Airsheds in India for Urban and Regional Air Quality Management’, published in MDPI’s Air journal, recommends dividing India into 15 airsheds tailored to each region’s unique climate and pollution sources.
“Such a strategy could significantly improve Delhi’s air quality by addressing pollution from sources both inside and outside the capital,” Dr Sarath Guttikunda, lead author of the study and founder of UrbanEmissions.
Normally, Delhi’s pollution is often attributed to stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana as primary sources. However, it needs a broader and regional approach for tackling the severe air pollution problem from a multi-sector and socio-economic perspective.
“Delhi and its neighbouring areas work together to address all the major sources that contribute to the problem - residential, industrial, transport and waste combustion sources,” said Guttikunda.
He further explains that enabling cooperation beyond borders for mutual benefit. “Not only will it benefit the national capital, but the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain as a whole,” he further said.
According to the World Air Quality Report 2023, New Delhi was the most polluted capital city in the world, while India ranked as the third most polluted country globally. Every year, during winter months pollution levels cross at least 25-30 times the World Health Organization (WHO)’s recommended safe limit.
Delhi’s air quality worsens each winter, driven by local emissions, crop residue burning in neighbouring states, and adverse weather conditions. Multiple studies have shown that local sources like vehicular pollution, residential burning, industrial emissions and construction activities are top contributors to the pollution in the capital region.
15 Key Airsheds Proposed*
Himalayan Regions (2 airsheds)
Gangetic Plains (4 airsheds)
Plateaus (4 airsheds)
Arid/Desert (1 airshed)
Coastal Plains (3 airsheds)
Islands (1 airshed)
*As per similar climatic conditions