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Clean air needs targets, timelines and accountability

If Delhi and the NCR meet national air quality standards on schedule from 2026, their cumulative PM2.5 exposure burden could fall by 20 per cent by 2040

Air pollution’s costs are well understood, as are many of the solutions. India’s clean-air policy needs not another list of measures, but a stopwatch. (ANI)

4 min read Oct 28, 2026 06:14 AM IST First published on: Oct 28, 2026 at 06:14 AM IST

After serious heatwaves and deadly deluges, it’s time for toxic air to afflict lives and livelihoods in India. Again, till the cycle is forgotten. This seasonal amnesia consistently collides with a revealing policy paradox. In September, the Union government’s latest Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan rankings were released. Lucknow was crowned India’s best-performing million-plus city. The city deserves credit: Its annual average PM10 levels have fallen from 253 micrograms per cubic metre in 2017-18 to around 135 today.…