Pedalling towards a cleaner capital
The real crisis lies in major cities, where overcrowded roads, rising pollution, declining patience and poor traffic discipline have become commonplace.
The real crisis lies in major cities, where overcrowded roads, rising pollution, declining patience and poor traffic discipline have become commonplace.
Delhi’s draft EV Policy 2026 opens for consultation, proposing incentives, scrappage benefits and strict timelines to push electric mobility across two-wheelers, commercial fleets and private vehicles.
Pakistan emerged as the world’s most polluted country in 2025, recording PM2.5 levels up to 13 times higher than the safe limits prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The framework aims to improve road cross-sections, right-of-way (RoW) utilisation, greening measures and road maintenance protocols across the NCR.
The CAQM, in view of the forecasts for meteorological conditions and air quality index made available by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), respectively, has taken a call on the preventive, restrictive measures under stage II of GRAP, invoked in the entire NCR on October 19 last year.
The national capital continued to struggle with hazardous air pollution on Thursday, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the ‘very poor’ category despite a slight improvement from previous days.
The decision comes to counter the situation of air pollution in the national capital, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) level at 324 at 7 pm.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul Pancholi made it clear that the Court would not entertain any objections to the recommendations of the CAQM and that the focus must now be on their effective implementation.
In a post on X, Ramesh referenced the World Bank’s new report, A Breath of Change, which examines air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan foothills. Describing the report as “comprehensive, evidence-based, and unambiguous,” he said its timing was critical, given the deteriorating air quality across much of the country.
Air pollution continues to pose a serious threat to public health in India, with experts warning that fragmented efforts and short-term fixes will not deliver lasting improvements in air quality or urban liveability.
