Blog: India 2nd Worst-Hit By Covid. Air Pollution Could Be Double Whammy
Chetan Bhattacharji | Monday September 07, 2020The number of cases in India has rapidly overtaken Brazil. The weekly average today is tens of thousands of cases more than it was on the first of August. Some expect it to cross 6 million cases by the end of this month. But that's not the only way it's going to get worse. Scientists fear a double whammy once air pollution starts spiraling.
10 Ways Jeff Bezos Can Spend His $10 Billion Earth Fund In India
Chetan Bhattacharji | Thursday February 20, 2020In a few months' time, Jeff Bezos will start making grants from the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund he has set up. India, as well as South Asia, needs such commitment to fight, in his words, the devastating impact of climate change.
Blog: In Delhi's Air Pollution Emergency, What Changed And What Didn't
Chetan Bhattacharji | Friday November 01, 2019Declaring a "public health emergency" in Delhi and its neighbouring area is unprecedented. However, doctors like Dr Arvind Kumar of Lung Care Foundation, have been demanding this for some time now.
Blog: The Big Climate Meet At the UN And Where India Stands On It
Chetan Bhattacharji | Monday September 23, 2019Global warming won't pause for geo-political and financial negotiations. Neither will the suffering of hundreds of millions already feeling the effects of the changing climate.
Blog: Land Use And Diets Need To Change, Now, Warns UN Report
Chetan Bhattacharji | Thursday August 08, 2019There's a double whammy for mega-cities like Delhi-NCR, which could worsen heatwaves. A combination of "global warming and urbanisation can amplify warming in cities and their surroundings (heat island effect), especially during heat waves.
Blog: Voters, Please See. A 9-Point Clean Air Manifesto For Elections
Chetan Bhattacharji | Friday February 22, 2019The air across many places in India is toxic. Pollution levels, while not at emergency levels like a few years ago, remain lethally high. A glance at social media will show you who are the most worried. "Parents are only obsessing about how to protect their children (from air pollution). We're all terrified" tweeted a mother.
Blog: How India's Top Anti-Pollution Plan Is Failing Children
Chetan Bhattacharji | Wednesday November 14, 2018The question all this technicality raises about GRAP is this - why is the anti-pollution system in the most polluted mega-city in the world so structured that the most vulnerable, the children, are protected only when it surpasses 'severe' levels and hits 'severe plus or emergency' range? This is over 12 times WHO's safe limit of 25 micrograms/cubic metre.
Blog: Delhi, Bengaluru Becoming "Urban Heat Islands": IPCC Report Author
Chetan Bhattacharji | Monday October 08, 2018Hundreds of scientists have worked for the last three years to understand just how pressing is the need to limit global warming. The answer - very, very pressing indeed.
Blog: 10-Point Guide To The IL&FS Fiasco And How It Impacts Everyday People
Chetan Bhattacharji | Thursday October 04, 2018The latest social media jibe on the rupee goes something like this: once it crosses 75 to the dollar, it will be become part of the Marg Darshak Mandal, the BJP's panel of retired statesmen. There are few cracks, however, at the IL&FS crisis, which threatens potential collapse for the markets and the country's financial network. Here's a 10-point guide to what exactly...
Blog: When Kids Get Smokers' Diseases, Where Tourist Hot-Spots Have Dirty Air
Chetan Bhattacharji | Wednesday June 06, 2018Now India is fast getting the tag of the most polluted country in the world, specially after the recent WHO report listed 14 Indian cities in the world's worst 15.
Blog: 'Indian' Data? Really? Huge Government Scheme Falls Into Easy Trap
Chetan Bhattacharji | Wednesday May 02, 2018Make no mistake about it, India could soon have the most polluted air amongst all large countries. In 2016, it saw the steepest rise in level of air pollution since 2010, while China actually saw a slight decline.
Blog: Netas, We Want Bijli, Sadak, Paani - And Swachh Hawa
Chetan Bhattacharji | Tuesday January 09, 2018Here are my suggested 10 resolutions for cleaner air
Blog: Delhi, We Can Beat This Smog. 7 Steps, Get Started Now
Chetan Bhattacharji | Wednesday November 08, 2017The pollution problem is big but is fixable with a mix of policy, political will, and micromanagement by residents at their home and neighbourhood level.
Blog: PM Modi, This Diwali, Why Not Appeal for Swachh Air?
Chetan Bhattacharji | Friday October 06, 2017One hopes the Prime Minister changes his Diwali message from last year. Study after study shows that children are most susceptible to airborne pollutants - PM 2.5 i.e. particulate matter 30x less than a hair's breadth.
Blog: What These Fires On The Map Mean For Delhi
Chetan Bhattacharji | Wednesday April 19, 2017Farm fires are expected to peak over the next few weeks sending air quality plummeting.
