Polluted Air has Severe Costs, Needs a Systemic Response

D Raghunandan of the Delhi Science Forum and All India Peoples Science Network says in this interview with NewsClick that the toxic air that currently engulfs large parts of India has systemic roots. India cannot afford to overgeneralise the problem or selectively focus on just the weather, seasonal factors or episodic pollution, such as stubble burning. Each polluting factor requires solutions, but the primary culprit is the very high base levels of pollutants that always permeate the environment. He explains what the science says about this high base, and why solving it will bring tremendous relief.