Improving air quality cannot be just about addressing spikes; it must be focused on reducing the total quantum of pollutants in the air by addressing the major contributors to the pollution base load. Biomass burning, soil and road dust, construction, solid waste burning, coal and fly ash, vehicular pollution contribute to poor air quality. Their contribution varies across region and seasons. While high-cost, high-visibility measures like cloud seeding or reversing atmospheric inversion using jet engines might have an immediate impact, they are no substitute for sustained measures to reduce pollution. Air pollution has been treated as a problem unique to Delhi, or at best a handful of metros. This metro-centric focus is detrimental to addressing what is a public health problem across the country. Poor air quality is a pan-India problem, the variation is in degree.

Improving air quality requires a concerted effort. Impact on air quality must be an important consideration in planning industrial projects, and emission norms need to be strictly implemented. Air quality has direct economic and developmental impacts, via its severe effects on health, mortality and productivity, with the poor bearing the brunt. India’s continued poor air quality could well derail its dreams of sustained and inclusive growth.