RT
@Bh_Chandra: Air pollution is not only Delhi’s or Mumbai’s problem. It is a subcontinental crisis.
The real progress in controlling air pollution will begin only when we acknowledge the true scale and sources of our pollution crisis.
Every winter, a vast arc of brown haze engulfs the Indo-Gangetic Plain, stretching across thousands of kilometres.
The satellite animation below shows how dramatically this haze expanded and shifted between 18 and 23 October 2026. On 22 October, it stretched across vast areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and beyond.
And this is only the beginning.
As winter sets in and stubble burning intensifies, a massive blanket of haze, reaching up to 3 km in thickness, is likely to spread across much of northern and eastern India—from Gujarat and Punjab to West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. Its influence will extend into peninsular India, affecting cities such as Mumbai.
Yet, despite knowing the major sources of pollution, we will spend another winter arguing about who is responsible. Governments will announce emergency measures, impose restrictions and implement GRAP. And, as in previous years, these reactive measures will do little to address the underlying problem.
We cannot solve a subcontinental pollution crisis through fragmented, city-centric emergency responses.
It is time we moved beyond the optics of odd-even schemes, GRAP, construction bans and artificial rain. The real solutions are well known: eliminate open burning and transition decisively from polluting fuels to cleaner fuels and technologies across industry, transport, households and other sectors.
No country has successfully overcome its air pollution crisis without fundamentally changing how it burns fuels and manages emissions.
India will be no exception.
Source: NASA Worldview satellite imagery, 18–23 October 2026.
