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Let's not forget the toxic foam in yamuna while focussing on the smog🙂🙂

"Ek Butter Chicken dena?..." "Sorry Sir, only Smoked Chicken 🤪😋...."

As an Environmental Engineer, I'm very happy that media is talking about "Inversion" phenomenon. My advice is Remove political influence from Pollution Control Boards and see the results.

Conduct the elections on mid November to December. We can drastically see the improvement

Delhi government, governments of all the states bordering delhi, and central government, all have to come together to solve such a huge problem. But, as we love politics more than the actual solutions we would play the blame game for the next 10-20 years.

Humble request: on 100th birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, kindly make a detailed video on his work and why it is prevalent.

We need pollution to be our top priority. I don’t understand why the politicians in Delhi (center or state) do not pay attention. They breathe the same poisonous air. Thanks Shekhar ji for highlighting this. Could there be a series on ‘rise in pollution in India since last 50-70 years’?

Much needed topic for ctc, if only all liberals addressed the issue completely like this rather than blaming only Patakas for political purposes

I lived in Singapore for 3 years. Whatever is recommended by IIT is followed ( barring stubble, which is absent there) there. It is Governance lapse in Delhi with capital G.

I have previously worked in coal fired power plants for 5-6 years. My job was ash disposal and measurement of emissions. So,I would like to add over here one point and that is coal fired power plants emit mercury oxides in small quantities(measured in grams/tonnes) which eventually form soluble compounds in the nearby rivers or lakes. It goes into the food chain of human population via fishes. So there is just one word of caution here- know the source of your food if you can

Immensely balanced. Objectively analysed in totality. Technicals made "lok-bhogya" so well. Thank you. Congratulations SGji.

So it’s not Deepwali crackers

Thank you for this episode. The outrage is well justified. Every1 is just talking about pollution and it's only getting worse and worse 🙏

India needs strict enforcement of emission laws. These harmful pollutants are released all year long, its only in winters when the wind flow is stagnant these particulates settle down and result in smog. Stubble Burning and crackers etc etc are just cherries on top.

Guptaji. A minor correction. PM2.5 and PM10 refers to microns which is micrometers and NOT micrograms.

Please do a story about three best police stations declared by Ministry of Home Affairs in India for 2021. It may help in improving the functioning of police at Police Station level.

Now that Delhi has a Chief Minister with IIT back-ground and all the powers and resources, a rare opportunity for any one, can he not come up with some solution?.It does not ,however, mean the onus is only on him and Central Govt is exonerated from all the responsibility. It only means that setting aside the politics, Kejriwal 's should be given a central role to play in collaboration with various International agencies to solve the problem. Further the people would also be curious to know the system of pollution in other cities also.

Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money. 💯

Delhi air pollution is like the flooding and unsolved water logging in Chennai in November-December.

As I said earlier, Shekharji thinks about Indias air pollution problem only when he starts coughing.

1:14 SG : The issue with seeing this challenge is... Me : The issue is the challenge with seeing itself 😂

A honest true representation. Kudos The Print (and SG) for the efforts all around. Tailpiece: We the people should also remember that all problems are not because of politicians and Governments can’t solve all problems without the help of “we the people”.

This problem is largely related to the general lawless in our country, that is the inability on the part of the government (both central and other levels) to enforce laws affecting every day life of citizens. Countless home power generators also add to the smog problem. India needs to look at other developing countries in South Asia and learn how they combat this problem. Also the British colonial era police and court system across the country need to be modernized soon for the rapid economic transformation.

A society that is obsessed with identity issues involving religion, caste,etc. deserves this. Maybe this restores their senses.

Thanks Print for highlighting sections of images. Good to see comment section feedbacks being listened to. Kudos to viewers too.

Sir please don't use digital background..it's really nice to see you sitting in your office or residence or terrace(we know it's not possible now due to pollution)

Kejriwal government is like everything wrong happening in Delhi is because of Central Government . Then the solution of every problem is to do a press conference and start blaming others for it .

Could not agree more with you SG. Unfortunately, our leaders and even our judiciary are just not asking the right questions

Excellent synopsis Shekhar ji and great reference of the IIT study so clear as day. Our politicians know all this but obviously don't care ...they live in relatively cleaner Lutyens Delhi...most of the more opulent areas are less smoggy but ultimately it is killing all of us. The lack of solid action like even cleaning the road dust, reducing coal burning, paving roadsides, cleaner construction rules is truly pathetic.

Burning of garbage is not the problem, every country does it but they do it in a proper waste incineration plant where it it properly treated. Don't think your garbage waste can just sit there at the edge of the city growing in size day by day. What a pretty view of a mountain of garbage and smell is on another level itself.

Very well researched , as usual!

Superb analyses. Facts and data. No conjecture, no grandstanding, no wokisms. What a pleasant experience

Water of yamuna or air of the city..kejriwal is not taking these issues seriously

Today I realized how Kejriwal has been fooling the public in Delhi...

A very timely CTC. Keep up the good work SG 😎👍🏻

Congratulations on a very good article/program. First person in recent history I have seen trying to delve into the problem scientifically. But few comments: First of all I would welcome SC intervention. We still remember how CNG helped. Any ways but the message for CAG/SC asking why we are blaming the farmer is an incorrect/diversionary question. No one is blaming the poor farmer. We need to blame (and are actually blaming) the government who has sufficient money and a solution and still unable to implement the known scientific solution. This is not the farmer. We need to blame (and punish) the not-so-poor but disobedient/uncaring farmer(s) and people goading them to disobey and not do the right thing for the stubble. Unfortunately politician use the diversion to poor to save their wealthy notorious/crony farmers - this needs to be heavily fined/stopped. But most importantly I take all government reports with a grain of salt (even scientific). They always downplay the crony industrialists else such reports are not released. So I am not sure if scientific paper (peer reviewed is 100% correct). A fact in front of us is that in lockdown, all rivers (including Yamuna) became clean and so did the air and we could see Himalayas (200-300 kms away). If so, people's sewage did not stop. What stopped was industrialist activities. That are polluting rivers and earning profits at others cost. So first principle a polluter needs to pay for the loss (much higher but diffused) he is causing for his much smaller (but concentrated) gain. Next all buses or public transport systems in Delhi should become electric (forced) even if they cost more (like CNG). All the simple construction, road, mcd (burning of waste) should be done immediately and penalties imposed (by courts) on departments not able to perform. Regular monitoring needs to happen. Stringer power plants effluent reduction targets (which are still not being set aggressively - government sitting on them) should be enforced and ordered by courts. Last but not the least any government official and politician playing diversionary tactics or doing politics should be made an example of and be heavily fined (by courts) so that this behavior is stopped and real action/debates happen. The standard diversionary, delaying, will get fixed by itself and everybody will go silent attitude in government/judicial office has to be fixed. There are laws and people not enforcing them or sitting on them. They need to be help accountable by court. Only then things will start to move.

19:26 The waste burning in landfill sites is not done manually, it happens on its own because of methane production (the fires on Gazipur, North Delhi landfill sites etc) - that is what causes pollution.

Very nice and fact based news report. As always it cut the clutter about this Smog debate

So the majority offender is the tandoor. Who would have thought that. Brilliant piece as always, well done @ThePrint

Shekhar Gupta's analysis is excellent but there is one glaring omission in it, which the IIT Kanpur committee also forgot to take into account or for that matter nobody is thinking about it. That is burning of coal, wood and uplaas in thousands of villages hy lacs of households in North India which also contribute to pollution in a big way. One has to go to any village during this period to find out how polluted is the air over there. Slow diffusion almost equalises the pollution level all over North India. Regarding burning of Palali by farmers : there is no open space in the villages where Palali can be stacked. Since the farmer has to clear the field and sow the next crop within next 15-20 days, he has no other alternative than to burn the crop. However there can be some other solutions suggested by a few specialists.

Sir It is reason of freebies Because in 10 years nothing is done on city infrastructure

I think the government must stop all the meetings, and just watch this video and start implementing. Brilliant Sir.

Excellent episode. Thank you!

Dear SG, this episode is highly informative and is very relevant. If any Tedex type video can be made out of it, it will become viral and make a long standing impact on Delhi's pollution crisis by improving awareness and introspection by all.

Thank you, Sir. I'll jot down these lesser talked about points which will surely be of mighty help in the upcoming Mains exam.

I very well remember the insane discomfort to breathe during this time of the year in Varanasi. Varanasi is located in East UP. We generally only focus on Delhi. But this problem is extremely huge. Air quality is very very bad throughout North India. Especially, from parts of Punjab, Hariyana to Delhi and Uttarpradesh. Luckily, I don't live in North India anymore. But, I feel how can people live in almost a gas chamber like environment all the time. WE NEED TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE AT THE EARLIEST AND TRY TO AVOID EVERY SUCH ACTIONS THAT INCREASES THE POLLUTION. I ALSO THINK THAT THE PEOPLE LIVING IN NORTH INDIA KIND OF IGNORE THIS AS IF IT'S OKAY TO BREATHE SUCH AIR OR THEY ARE IMMUNE TO LUNG CANCER!!

much awaited analysis

What a way to cut the clutter Real journalism

Dr. Onkar Dixit (7:58) was our tutor for the Introductory level Computer Science course in IIT Kanpur.

About time, We cannot have solutions which are for a short term. Great and detailed analysis of the Pollution Crisis. Thanks @ the print.

The Doha!!! Too good. Nice report.

I always new that most pollution is from dust otherwise London New York etc all would have same pollution

Much need topic! Wonderful analysis SG sir🇮🇳❤️ Hope All people unite and thnk abt this rather than fighting among ourselves ..like who is the fault etc! Management shld be started frm ourselves! Jai hind❤️‍🔥🤩

Shekarji please do an episode on Gadchiroli incident and attack on convoy of assam rifles commander in Manipur

Very well researched & solution based .....for a change we have a media person talking solutions......else mostly they constantly whine about problems....Grtt job SG 👍🙏

I know Vaudeville for two reasons, 1) Hollywood films 1940s and heavy does of Vaudeville. 2) In WWE, there was a tag team of a similar name.

Amazing... 😊🙌🏻

People of big cities such as Delhi Hyderabad, Lucknow and Ahmedabad choking on poisonous air while the government preferring keeping coal fired plants open.

Well presented without hype

I didnt know data and I thought Diwali and Firing farms were main reason for this pollution. Thanks for bringing out data .

1:41 That made me chuckle .

I liked this episode. Well said👍

Thanks!

I love this channel

Does this analysis apply to Mumbai? In Mumbai we constantly have a cold. Especially Borivli area due to reckless real estate activity. Even after the cold is long gone, there is cough and heaviness in the throat/chest.

Going by Indian media reports I thought only Delhi has worst pollution crisis but then I saw sultanpur air show yesterday how fighter planes were flying in smog 600kms from Delhi in a open field and thus came to know that its about the whole north India but we only talk about Delhi for a particular reason

hi shekhar. this is good stuff. is there cut the clutter planned for why there is a huge backlog of court cases in India. or, why does court cases take so long ?

Thanks

It's a 2015 study. I think LPG connections would have gone much higher in 2021. so I doubt if Tandoors/coal usage is as high. Also, many industries (thermal power plants) were shut down in the past few years

Practical solutions deep analysis that will produce useful results if applied

What will be the reduction in percentage points both summer and winter if all the measures listed are carried out? SG missed out giving this figure which was the most important.

To rephrase the doha that you quoted: नवंबर मे pollution सब कहे, साल भर कहे न कोई जो साल भर pollution कहे, तो नवंबर बूरा न होय।।

Educated. Thanks. Pl send to SC judges and cabinet ministers in Delhi & Central Gots.

That tandoori chicken bit got me 🤣.

Brilliant report! Air pollution is serious and is dangerous for us 365days a year. It doesn't take any holidays unfortunately. But we take a lot of breaks from common sense by fighting among each other rather than hold politicians accountable on pollution and making votes dependable on performance on pollution. At least people in delhi ncr should do that - votes for pollution reduction that's the only way to get politicians to get their heads out of their ass and get down to solving this mess rather than passing the buck!

It's high time that someone should break it to the "woke crowd" that "wokeness" cannot be restricted to Twitter, FB, comfy cushions, and ACs. It is similar to the COP26. Giving up luxuries for some time would go a long way to curb pollution than seasonal outbursts on firecrackers

Another gem by SG

Thanks Sir, please make this video in Hindi also so majority of common people get this important message and the breakdown of factors that cause pollution all year around... Hopefully then more people put this at the top of their agenda while voting and hence govt is compelled to take action at least against the easy options... Thanks

I think the deeper issue is the excessive construction and concretisation that eventually leads to denser population thus more vehicles on the road. We need to decentralise Delhi and develop adjoining areas instead.

Please you bar charts in description.. they are more attactive and informative ... Pie chart feels ugly in the sence, they don't give the clearer picture.

Real News is here! ❤

Interesting that you keep saying "we need to address this throughout the year.." but your own coverage of pollution as a national problem and the inadequacy of the concerned governments across the country, is only limited to a few weeks in the winter.

IN THE END you always say the right things. Only request, please don’t make it so long winding. Can get to the point faster I’m sure.

This is the 3 season of this delhi pollution good to hear

Solving environmental issues and coming up with solutions requires professionals and environmental scientists; politicians and babudom will ruin things further as their incompetence blends into the smoke of blowing fires creating an environmental and intellectual smog & smoke screens!

Annual episode of CTC on delhi pollution based on 2016 report from IIT Kanpur. Curious if we can have YoY comparison of percentages.

Very useful and informative video. Would request a sequel to this which can dig deeper into the possible solutions and the implementation of the various ideas. I suspect no single political party can solve this since different government bodies report to different masters and no matter how strong willed a government is, they will not be in a position to enforce the rules they lay out.

Inversion is KEY. You dealt so little on it.

Thank you for dwelling on the study report with causes and solutions. Not implementing the solutions to various identified causes is inexplicable. What's does that say?

The logic is simple. If it is not the priority of voting papulation ... It will not get solved. In democracy, people need to make it a priority. For most people, free food, free electricity are priorities and voye for it.

I have one problem with your analysis... Your source of truth is a paper which is 5 years ago... There should be some way to show what have changed since that time... what are current effort and affect.... There were many promises made by delhi govt... How much of it has been done... If nothing has been done... What all neighbouring states are doing... Or not doing at all... What are communication has happened till now among states and center... What are the possible solutions for current situation... Is there a effect of new solution provided by pusa institute for stubble burning... Any other efforts... Like peripheral highway... This is the same ctc you have done last year.... On which i did same comment... That you did same ctc last to last year.... Btw i read almost all ctc of yours... Thanks in advance... Please provide answers for above questions... It is very hard to trust govt. statements.... That's why i need your analysis on above topics...

Thanks for clarifying a lot of things. It would have been great if you had also ascribed some responsibility to the various sources of pollution wherever possible. Like, out of the Delhi Government/ Municipal corporations etc. what is falling between stools. who is responsible for which aspect / source and should therefore be held responsible. I guess, most of us don’t know that very clearly. It’s such a critical issue, request you to consider my suggestion when you are covering this topic next time..

Good data. Bad analysis. Looking at the last 8 years of data on any real-time website tells you that November has about 20 days where PM25 and PM5 rises above 400. Marked black. So it's not the dust alone. It's the crop burning that's the problem. The burning crop lifts the sand as SG pointed out that causes the problem. 200% better improvement on a problem that causes 2% of the problem (read Diwali) is not as good as problem that eradicates 50% of the cause of 30% problem. Solution: allow Punjab farmers to sow their Rabi / Kharif crop anytime they want. 2. Remove msp or provide msp to crops to produce best suited for that land and region As a request, request SG to inform us on why this problem is unique to Delhi. I am sure Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur also must face problems based on this logic

Embassies will soon operate virtually in Delhi ;)

Gupta ji 🙏

Timeline for Mandatory installation of flue gas desulphurisation devices in our thermal power plants is being constantly postponed by the Union govt...

Although CTC is hard to imagine without Shekhar Gupta, I suggest to include Other team members of the print to start making decluttering episodes on specialized topics. Nothing wrong with Mr. Shekhar's explanation and this is also one of the best episodes of CTC , but now I think on the occassional/experimental basis episodes of CTC needs to be published by other journalist of the team. The print needs to make multiple journalist of team as popular as Mr. Gupta to increase the reach. The print has become synonymous with Mr. Shekhar Gupta and I see this channel in line with other informational channel like The economist,Insider, The wall street journals. We go to watch these channel for content and not by who is presenting those content. Similarly The print has to become largely known for its content and not only by Shekhar sir.

we need to start thinking clearly abt this...quite often, they just talk abt it as if there's a single cause of air pollution..."don't blame the farmers...crackers are only for one day"....the fact that a single source by itself isn't to blame for the entire issue doesn't mean it can't be called out...we should do whatever we can, when we can... stubble burning must be stopped with deployment of economically viable solutions at scale...subsidized to the extent required...industrial and vehicular pollution must also be regulated...the same goes for construction activities...and crops whose stubble are usually burnt (rice) should stop being incentivized in a state where water isn't aplenty....crackers had a clearly significant marginal impact...so, they should have been stopped too cuz we can do it just by making a choice....why should be poison the air deliberately just for fun ? those hazardous substances stay in the ecosystem and our bodies for years...we have to be organized in letting the governments know that the political cost of inaction on this issue will be unaffordable to them....they are busy passing the buck while people sustain permanent damage to their health

What is the solution?