The best of QoC 2023
As 2023 comes to a close, it is customary to compile year-end lists of the work done throughout the year. At Question of Cities, we join the bandwagon not as an exercise in self-congratulation but more as a reflection of…
Wake-up call: India’s air pollution-related deaths among highest in the world
As winter sets in, the air quality in most cities in India turns critically poor. Triggered by climate change, the situation worsens every year, impacting people’s physical and mental health. More than 2.3 million Indians died prematurely due to pollution…
The silent epidemic: Air pollution infiltrates our lungs, our lives, say people
No one has been spared by the effects of air pollution. A nagging cough, throat infection, lung ailments, breathing problems, and tiredness have become common. Doctors have been seeing a rise in patients with the same symptoms and yet cities…
Mumbai needs an Ecological Plan beyond the quick fixes for air pollution
Mumbai’s air quality has been deteriorating since November last year but hardly anyone thought it would soon get the dubious tag of the second-most polluted city in the world. Even the Arabian Sea, the city’s natural cleanser, could not help…
‘I need to provide for my family, the air doesn’t matter’
The face masks are back in Mumbai – not because of COVID but poor air quality. Over the past two months, Mumbai’s air quality has been fluctuating from ‘poor’ to ‘very poor’ on the index, leading to numerous health problems…
Clearing the air on Mumbai’s smoggy atmosphere
When Mumbai’s air quality deteriorated and overtook Delhi to make the financial capital the most polluted city in the country, the alarm bells rang loud and clear. For several days in January and February, Mumbaikars woke up to smog-enveloped surroundings…
Right to clean air: Stop the smog
The Right to Environment includes the right to clean air. But are we really breathing clean air? The rising ailments show that living with polluted air has proven to adversely affect people’s health and even reduce life span or lead…
World’s most polluted city: Delhi chokes and struggles through the smog
Delhi, the capital of India, also lives with the dubious tag of being the most polluted city in the world. Even as it is enveloped in a blanket of smog every year, especially in winter, air quality governance is far…
Delhi’s direct line from air pollution to disease
With the onset of winter in Delhi, smog is back and so are a plethora of diseases. The impact of air and water pollution on health is worsening, not sparing even the young. Lung ailments and heart diseases have become…
Delhi’s landfills spread health hazards amid buried promises
Mountains of garbage on Delhi’s borders have plagued the city’s residents for decades. Garbage burning adds significantly to the air pollution to make Delhi the most polluted city in the world. Contaminated drinking water, toxic fumes from methane fires, and…