Combating air pollution

Rural areas should not be left out

The notion that air pollution is primarily an urban phenomenon does not seem well-founded. Evidence gathered by reputed institutions, including some leading Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), suggests that air quality in villages is almost as bad as in most cities, posing equally grave health hazards. But this aspect, regrettably, is totally disregarded in the combat against air pollution, which remains focused on select urban centres. Practically, little is underway to monitor and mitigate air pollution in non-urban zones. The bulk of the country’s population, therefore, lives in areas outside the pollution-tracking network and continues to breathe foul air with