Delhi smog: Experts call for regional cooperation to fight air pollution

Anti-smog guns spray water on New Delhi’s Ring Road to minimize air pollution.
Experts say current urban-focused air pollution controls ignore rural pollution sources and recommend developing regional air quality plans based on successful models in Mexico City and Los Angeles.
Representatives from the University of Surrey in the UK and the Derry region worked together to identify rural pollution sources such as crop burning, wood stoves and power plants as major sources of urban smog.
Professor Prashant Kumar, Director of the Global Center for Clean Air Research (GCARE) at the University of Surrey, emphasized that air pollution extends beyond city boundaries and requires regional solutions.
Research by Kumar and experts in Delhi shows that current urban-focused policies, such as promoting public transport or controlling industrial emissions, ignore these rural sources of pollution.
GCARE recommends developing a regional air quality plan, similar to successful models in Mexico City and Los Angeles.
To improve monitoring, experts recommend using satellite technology to create “smoke forecasts” that detect pollution sources and predict interactions with weather conditions.
An “Air Basin Council” is also proposed to facilitate coordination among local, state and federal agencies.
One of the study’s authors, Anwar Ali Khan of the Delhi Pollution Control Board, stressed the important role of neighboring countries in joint action, the need for science-based action plans and improved monitoring.
“We need an action plan backed by good science, and we need better surveillance. This requires cities, governments and others to work together. Cooperation is the only way to defeat this deadly health threat.”
Another author, Mukesh Khare, professor emeritus of civil engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, emphasized the importance of moving away from urban emission reduction targets and towards specific regions.
He said establishing “air pools” was critical for effective air quality management and planning.

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