Air pollution will only get worse

The Indian Express

New Delhi is choking under a dense cloud of toxic smog, said Darryl D’Monte. Schools were closed last week, flights were canceled, and poor visibility led to car accidents. The rich stayed inside, sucking down pure air through their home filters. Everyone else had to breathe in the thick white haze, an experience akin to smoking 50 cigarettes a day. This smog descends on New Delhi every year as winter approaches, when pollutants settle on the city, mixing with smoke from burning crop waste in neighboring states. And it’s not only the capital: the World Health Organization says 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India. The “public health menace” isn’t just bad

for our bodies. It also hurts the economy, through slowed production, soaring hospital bills, and lost tourism. Government intervention is sorely needed. Farmers should be encouraged to recycle waste rather than burning it, and power stations must be cleaned up and strictly regulated. But the main issue is vehicles. The big cities need better public transportation, and particularly green bus systems. Car owners should be discouraged from driving, with drastic increases in parking fees and the adoption of alternate-day restrictions based on license plates. If authorities in the capital fail to implement these commonsense policies, Delhi will remain “the air pollution pariah of the world.”