Why we need to let data and tech do much more to clean India’s air and act on proven solutions

Each winter, poor air quality sparks debates on whether technology can truly combat air pollution in India. The discussion is often focused on unproven devices such as smog guns or smog towers. Less attention is given to proven solutions.

It's critical to remember that India's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) has accelerated the use of data and technological innovation to manage air quality in cities since 2019. Cities like Delhi and Mumbai have adopted state-of-the-art, forecast-driven air quality decision support systems (AQDSS) and user-friendly citizen grievance applications like the Green Delhi App for pollution reporting. Proliferation of grievance redressal applications, in particular, has democratised the fight against air pollution by empowering citizens.

Given that air quality management is a complex, multi-sectoral challenge, here are three ways cities and states across India can leverage technology and data better:

Promote widespread adoption of AQDSS Vast data from monitoring stations, models, meteorological instruments and grievance portals are needed to make real-time decisions on air quality. Manually processing this complex information is like navigating a maze blindfolded - slow, inefficient and prone to errors. Automated solutions like early warning systems (EWS) and AQDSS streamline this process by integrating weather information, air quality forecasts and monitoring station data onto a single platform, enabling quicker and more accurate decisions.

Eight cities, including Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, already use Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology-developed systems with advanced forecasting models to manage air quality proactively, instead of just responding to pollution spikes. These systems can be further improved by incorporating data on dispersed sources of pollution and building modules for on-demand analysis of numbers coming in from monitoring stations.

For instance, Thane Municipal Corporation, in collaboration with Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), recently created a system that shows even where construction debris and broken roads can be acted upon to reduce pollution levels in cities.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) also provides 3-day air quality forecasts for 45 cities and nationwide pollutant forecasts at a 3-km resolution. However, cities can currently access only visualisations of this data. Making the raw forecast data publicly available would allow for tailored analytics, facilitating low-cost and effective AQDSS. This would eliminate the need for cities to have separate forecasting systems.

Extend recognition to satellite-derived pollutant data beyond fire counts Satellite-derived fire count data is regularly used by state and central bodies to track crop residue (stubble) burning in northern India. Despite limitations - such as insufficient resolution for smaller fires, infrequent updates and cloud interference - satellite monitoring is essential for covering vast areas where ground-based methods are unfeasible.

Satellite-derived fire count data are officially recognised by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) and states under its jurisdiction. However, satellite-derived pollutant concentration data lack similar recognition in India, despite high-resolution monitoring by both Indian and international satellites. These sensors measure pollutants in the atmospheric column, not at the ground level, but can be calibrated with continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations (CAAQMS) to estimate surface-level concentrations.

Expanding CAAQMS coverage beyond cities is essential. But it is costly, and challenging to implement universally. Satellites, however, offer a significant advantage. They do not differentiate between rural and urban areas, and their sensors can monitor pollutants across large regions. Given these benefits, satellite-derived pollutant data should receive the same recognition as fire count data.

Thailand's Pollution Control Department, for instance, uses Nasa satellite data, alongside other datasets, to issue early air quality warnings through a digital tool. A similar approach could be adopted in India. The recent launch of the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS)-6, which monitors aerosols at a 1 km resolution, is a promising step. Its data is publicly available on Isro's Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre (Mosdac) website. This should now be leveraged to identify pollution hotspots and assess remote areas more accurately.

Build capacity of technical staff at pollution control boards Tools like AQDSS and satellite-derived datasets provide valuable insights. But they require skilled interpretation. Users must understand their strengths and limitations to know when to act and when not to. For example, forecasting models can sometimes go awry and predict severe pollution during peak monsoon in a coastal city, where wind and heavy rain are guaranteed to keep the air clean.

Building technical capacity ensures informed decision-making, avoids misinterpretation and provides constructive feedback for system improvement.

Pollution control boards should, therefore, invest in ongoing skill-building programmes for their scientists and engineers to fully leverage these innovations.

Effective air quality management requires both short-term interventions, like those in Delhi's Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), and long-term strategies, such as emissions reductions across sectors. Sound data, effective tools and skilled analysis are the foundation of both approaches. Let numbers do the talking.