Air pollution, hazardous particulate matter a major threat in India

Air pollution is a year-long problem in the northern Indo-Gangetic belt but it rises to dangerous levels in winter as temperature falls.

A toxic haze of ultra-fine and hazardous particulate matter, which can cause respiratory problems, lung cancer, heart diseases and other ailments, turns the region into a "gas chamber".

Vehicular pollution, burning of biomass, including crop residue, industrial emissions, dust from construction sites and firecrackers all add to the toxic cocktail. Reports suggest pollution is also rearing its ugly head in the south, the Northeast and even Kashmir.

Vehicular emissions were one of the major causes of air pollution, said Roychowdhury, as she called for giving public transport and electric vehicles a big push.

"At least 80-90 percent of all motorised trips need to be on public transport, supported by walking and cycling infrastructure," Roychowdhury said.

"There also has to be a proper pricing of personal vehicle usage and massive electrification of the vehicle fleet." The share of vehicular emission to overall pollution may differ with the location and the time of the year.

In Delhi, a CSE study found that vehicles contributed to more than 50 percent of the city's pollution between October 24 and November 8, 2021.