Delhi’s air pollution headaches a microcosm of India’s own problems

Delhi’s air quality is so bad that it is considered an improvement when it changes from ‘severe’ to ‘very poor’, quips Sunita Narain, director of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based non-government organisation. In winter, Delhi’s air pollution fluctuates between poor and severe every other week and takes a turn for the worse when wind speeds fall and a dense fog settles over northern India. Amid rising concerns over health effects and limited success tackling smog, atmospheric scientists are attempting to track polluting particles to help combat Delhi’s pollution.