India should learn from china for air pollution

 India need not emulate / equal China’s political system to achieve a turnaround,

 but it can draw on the principles that made China’s progress possible.................................................

China and India have long grappled with severe air pollution. 

smog, Beijing managed to cut its annual PM2.5 levels by more than 50% between 2013 and 2021

while Delhi continues to rank among the world’s most polluted cities. How is Beijing breathing easier?

Health Impacts: 

Causes respiratory diseases like 

• asthma, 
• bronchitis, 
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

• Increases the risk of cardiovascular problems and premature deaths.

According to the Health Effects Institute (2018)

 annual deaths from air pollution in India are projected to rise from 1.1 million in 2015 to 1.7 million in 2030...

Clean-air transformation

multifaceted approach enabled by two major policy drives: 

the 

1. Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan 
2. Blue Sky Protection Campaign. 

These measures focussed -

on sweeping, top-down interventions across energy, transport, and industry. 

Beijing’s three features: 

1. coherent policy, 
2. strict enforcement, 
3. regional coordination. 

what did  government ? 

• expanded electric mobility, 
• 
  
• shut down or relocated hundreds of polluting industries, 
• 
  
• replaced thousands of coal-fired boilers with natural gas,
• 
  
•  imposed stringent China VI vehicular emission standards,
• 
  
•  built one of the world’s densest PM2.5 real-time air quality monitoring systems, 
• 
  
• and imposed substantial penalties for non-compliance. 

By help of province 

Most importantly, Beijing didn’t act alone. Its coordination with the neighbouring Tianjin-Hebei provinces through a unified ‘airshed’ strategy ensured regulation of transboundary air pollution. 

The turnaround was remarkable — PM2.5 levels dropped from the average 102 g/m³ in 2013 to 31 g/m³ in 2024.

India  not lack of environmental laws, but from the shortage of implementation

 

A strong statutory framework — 

1. the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981,
2.  the Environment Protection Act, 1986, 
3.  rules governing waste, construction, and emissions — 
4.  courts, tribunals, and pollution-control boards. 
5. Indirectly, Factories Act 1948 , Motor Vehicles Act 1988 also shape air-quality outcomes. 

India has rolled out many initiatives:  

Air Pollution in India: According to the World Air Quality Report 2024 by IQAir, India is the 5th most polluted country, with an average PM2.5 level of 50.6 µg/m³, 10 times the WHO safe limit (5 µg/m³). 

1. National Clean Air Programme, 
2. the Graded Response Action Plan, 
3. odd-even rationing, 
4. construction bans, 
5. dust-control rules, 
6. crop-residue measures, 
7. work-from-home advisories,
8. Delhi’s Air Pollution Mitigation Plan 2025. 
9. The Centre has also established the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). 

 

The core difference between dehli and china 

• India dominates the global pollution list, with 6 of the top 10 and 13 of the top 20 most polluted cities. 
• Globally, WHO reports that 99% of the population breathes polluted air, with low- and middle-income countries most affected. 

lies in 

• governance, 
• enforcement, 
• and coordination. 

China’s Environmental Vertical Reform 

created a clear hierarchy for realising local governments’ environmental protection responsibilities. 

This top-down structure ensured 

• uniform actions, 
• 
  
• strict enforcement, 
• 
  
•  rapid implementation. 

Delhi, 

operates within a 

fragmented governance system involving the 

• Union government,
• Delhi government, 
• pollution control boards, 
• multiple municipal bodies. 

As a result, decision-making becomes slower, enforcement weaker, and accountability more diffused. 

Beijing’s regulatory agencies

also possess sweeping authority and substantial resources.

 On the other hand, India’s pollution control boards remain chronically understaffed and underfunded. 

Beijing modelled inter-provincial alignment through the airshed strategy

whereas the CAQM’s directives to address stubble burning from adjoining States remain unauthoritative.

China has made large sustained investments 

in 

• clean energy, 
• electric mobility, 
• and industrial relocation. 

Health Impact: 

In 2021, air pollution caused 8.1 million deaths globally, with India (2.1 million) and China (2.3 million) being the worst affected (State of Global Air Report 2024). 

Delhi’s own industrial relocation attempts, such as the Bawana project, have faltered due to inadequate infrastructure and poor service delivery. 

Even ‘sustainable’ alternatives such as waste-to-energy plants have failed to meet air-quality norms. 

Delhi’s pollution load is further intensified 

by 

• industrial and vehicular emissions, 
• 
  
• corrupted Pollution Under Control (PUC) checks,
• 
  
•  construction dust, 
• 
  
• open waste burning, 
• 
  
• and meteorological inversions that trap winter pollutants.

•  Public transport expansion has lagged behind the city’s growth. 

• Odd-even rationing has shown negligible long-term impact. Behavioural change too, has been slower in India.

What India can borrow

India need not emulate China’s political system to achieve a turnaround, but it can draw on the principles that made China’s progress possible.

 First, governance 

must shift from episodic responses to a long-term sustained, mission-oriented strategy and treat air pollution as a national public health emergency. 

Second,  transition

 India must accelerate its transition to clean energy. Beijing’s move away from coal drove major PM2.5 reductions; Delhi similarly needs to expand and adopt energy-efficient standards suitable for all sectors. 

Third, transport reforms 

must be enforced, not merely announced. BS-VI norms require 

• credible PUC systems, 
• 
  
• modern testing centres, 
• 
  
• a robust vehicle-scrappage policy, 
• 
  
• and congestion management. 
• 
  

Expanding 

• EV charging infrastructure, 
• incentivising electric mobility, 
• and dramatically strengthening public transport are essential. 

Reduced Solar Efficiency: 

Air pollution reduces solar power efficiency by blocking radiation, while rising temperatures lower photovoltaic performance.  

• By 2041-2050, India's solar panel efficiency may drop by 2.3%, causing an annual loss of at least 840 GWh of electricity. 

Fourth, industrial policy 

must shift from relocation on paper to functional industrial zones with full utilities, transport access, and real-time emissions monitoring. 

Finally, air pollution must be governed as a regional problem. A Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei style airshed model should guide Delhi-NCR.

Source the hindu