India’s air quality crisis: officials dispute data as residents endure toxic smog

New Delhi and other Indian cities have been engulfed in toxic smog for months, and critics say official data and government rhetoric are masking the scale of the air quality crisis. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav told Parliament this month that India’s capital logged about 200 days with good air quality readings in a recent period, a figure opponents and pollution experts say omits the months when pollution was at its worst. A week later, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta described the air quality index as something comparable to a temperature reading that could be mitigated by spraying water, a stance that drew jeers from crowds at a public event. Gupta had also greenlit a controversial cloud seeding program earlier this year, arguing it could bring rain to lower pollution levels, despite a lack of robust evidence that the approach works.

Residents in New Delhi and surrounding areas have grown accustomed to periods of hazardous smog despite such assurances, saying the authorities’ mindset and metrics fail to reflect the danger. “Instead of doing cloud seeding, I hope the government will wake up and take some real action,” said Anita, a 73-year-old resident who goes by one name. Environmentalists and data experts have long argued that India’s air quality standards are looser than those in the United States, and that moderate readings often mask dangerous pollution levels. They note that India’s government standards are also less stringent than World Health Organization guidelines, a gap that can erode public trust even as many people struggle to understand the health implications of polluted air.

India relies on a nationwide network of monitors and sensors, supplemented by satellite data, to measure air quality. The monitors collect robust data, but critics say there are too few of them to convey neighborhood-level pollution accurately. Ronak Sutaria, CEO of Respirer Living, which develops air quality monitoring equipment and software, said the current system sometimes leaves residents with a blurred picture of how polluted the air in their neighborhoods really is. The national push to improve air quality began in 2019 with the National Clean Air Program, which set targets to reduce pollution by up to 40% in 131 cities by 2026. The program has provided funding for monitors and dust-control equipment such as water-spraying machines intended to curb dust from vehicles, construction, and desert winds. However, experts say the program has had limited impact on emissions from heavy industry and road transport—the two largest pollution sources in many Indian cities.

[Image inserted here to illustrate the context of urban air quality in India.]

A 2024 report by the Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhi think tank, found that 64% of the program’s funds went toward reducing dust, about 12% toward reducing pollution from vehicles, and less than 1% toward curbing industrial air pollution. “We are making huge investments in air quality monitoring. And so when we are expanding, then it also becomes an imperative that we should be focusing on the quality,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the think tank. Critics say the funding pattern underscores a narrow approach that addresses visibility and short-term dust suppression rather than root causes of dirty air from vehicles and factories.

Meanwhile, a Lancet study published last year linked long-term exposure to polluted air with roughly 1.5 million additional deaths annually in India compared with a scenario in which the country met World Health Organization air quality guidelines. Yet some Indian officials have questioned the certainty of a direct death-disease link to air pollution. Prataprao Jadhav, India’s junior health minister, has said there is no conclusive data in the country establishing a direct correlation between air pollution and mortality or disease. The debates over data and policy come as health advocates warn that the health consequences of polluted air are disproportionately borne by pregnant women, the elderly, and children, and can manifest as preterm births, low birth weights, and lifelong health effects.

Shweta Narayan, campaign lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said air pollution remains a public health issue even when it is not acknowledged as such by policymakers. “Deaths related to air pollution are not being counted. And the reason why it’s not being counted is because there are no systematic mechanisms to do so,” Narayan said. She emphasized that the health burden extends beyond mortality, affecting pregnancy outcomes and long-term health for anyone exposed to dirty air.

The controversy over data and policy has spilled onto the streets. Earlier this month, New Delhi residents joined rare protests demanding immediate action to clean the air. Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said authorities have focused more on image management than on pollution control, arguing that political will to address the problem is lacking. “There’s more headline and image management than pollution management,” Jha said. He urged officials to be honest about the scale of the problem, warning that a failure to act could push residents to migrate away from polluted urban centers.

The personal impact of the pollution is evident in the stories of ordinary workers. Satish Sharma, a 60-year-old auto rickshaw driver, said he has reduced his working hours as his health deteriorates in the thick smog that blankets the city. “Everyone feels the pollution. People are not able to work or even breathe,” Sharma said. “I want to tell the government to please do something about this pollution. Otherwise, people will move away from here.”

The episodes highlight a tension at the heart of India’s climate and environment policy: how to measure and respond to a complex, transboundary problem that affects millions of lives. As health advocates press for stronger standards and broader action beyond dust suppression, officials face mounting scrutiny over whether current data and programs are sufficient to protect public health. The conversation in Delhi and across India reflects a broader global challenge: translating scientific evidence into policy that is timely, transparent, and capable of delivering meaningful health benefits.

For now, residents continue to live with the air they breathe, while researchers, policymakers, and activists argue over how best to quantify and reduce the pollution that threatens their daily lives.