On December 1, the Union Environment Minister told Parliament that stubble burning had declined sharply and was only an “episodic” event. Yet Delhi’s AQI that day remained above 250, just like most cities across north India. This single admission quietly dismantles a decade-long narrative that blamed farmers in Punjab and Haryana while allowing the real causes of India’s air pollution to escape scrutiny. With or without stubble burning, toxic air has become the norm.
India has normalised an AQI of 150, even though no major Indian city records an AQI below 50—the WHO’s safe zone—at any time of the year. Air pollution is a chronic public health crisis, linked to lung disease, stunted births, shorter lifespans, and neurological harm. Yet outrage is selective, delayed, and muted because pollution is invisible, prolonged, and rooted in collective excess.
Science is clear: pollution comes mainly from vehicles and tyre dust, open burning of plastic waste, construction and material extraction, and thermal power plants. The failure lies not in diagnosis but in economic thinking that prioritises growth at all costs, ignores trade-offs, and protects corporate interests. Cities like Paris and Beijing show another path. India’s crisis is not technical—it is political economy. A reset is overdue.
Source:
https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/india-air-pollution-economic-thinking/article70448700.ece
