Choking Point: Delhi's Smog & Public Policy

Dec 3, 2024

Srinivasan Iyengar, a senior program manager and air pollution expert, joins Arindam Goswami to discuss Delhi's smog crisis. They delve into unique insights from Iyengar's research on the counter-intuitive sources of pollution and the complexities of PM2.5 metrics. The conversation emphasizes the need for data-driven policies that tackle root causes, critiquing existing measures like the odd-even rule. They also explore innovative solutions, including the potential of nuclear energy and better public transport to improve air quality.

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Chapters

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Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 3min

Unpacking Delhi's Air Pollution Crisis

02:44 • 13min

Unraveling Delhi's Air Quality Crisis

15:25 • 28min

Understanding Delhi's Pollution Dynamics: Local vs. Global Perspectives

43:05 • 2min

Reassessing Delhi's Air Pollution Policies

45:34 • 29min

Revitalizing Energy Policies for a Cleaner Future

01:14:14 • 2min

Innovative Approaches to Pollution Management

01:16:42 • 12min

Data-Driven Approaches to Tackling Air Quality in Delhi

01:29:04 • 4min

Join Srinivasan Iyengar and Arindam Goswami in this episode of All Things Policy, where we have an absolutely fascinating and insightful discussion about Delhi's air pollution problem, its causes and sources, and look at tools, models and frameworks to do data-backed, source-driven analysis to help policymakers with informed, optimal decision-making when it comes to solving the air pollution problem that plagues India and the world. Source analysis throws up very counter-intuitive reasons behind air pollution and can help make targeted interventions with a higher probability of success than ad-hoc policies.

We discuss a wonderful paper that Srinivasan had coauthored on this very topic, which you can read here: https://web.archive.org/web/20231210210045id_/https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3617129

Srinivasan also recommends reading the book "Clearing the Air" by Tim Smedley, a journalist by profession. The book is on air pollution and goes through its various causes. It also puts the debate in a historical context and has a healthy dose of various public policy measures that have both worked and failed. A great read indeed.

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