There'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.

The 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.

The 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/cubi...

Hundreds 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.

The 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 g...

Now 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.

Make 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.

Here are my suggested 10 resolutions for cleaner air

The pollution problem is big but is fixable with a mix of policy, political will, and micromanagement by residents at their home and neighbourhood level.

One 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.

Farm fires are expected to peak over the next few weeks sending air quality plummeting.

The ban on the sale booze anywhere within 500 meters of a state or national highway has led to a lot of outcry. But there's another "500-metre" order with which the Supreme Court could save lives.

Diesel exhaust is one of the deadliest, ambient air pollution we are closest to.

He's done it correctly once, now's the time to move beyond Odd-Even and not lose momentum.

A week into Delhi's Odd-Even trial, it's obvious the scheme won't bring down pollution single-handedly. Science makes it clear factors like temperature, wind, humidity, etc affect air quality.