Policy Implications and Mitigation Strategies for Air Pollution and Atmospheric Extreme Events

Air pollution is a public health concern worldwide. In India, deteriorating air quality is a grave issue causing nearly 1.1 million deaths in 2015 alone (Health Effects Institute, Burden of disease attributable to major air pollution sources in India, 2018). Globally, a significant proportion of human population is breathing poor air. While some megacities experience only episodic increases in air pollution, several Asian cities suffer from the problem chronically. Increases in ambient concentrations of criteria air pollutants above the prescribed air quality standards lead to a deterioration in air quality on different temporal scales. Direct emissions from natural and anthropogenic sources inject primary pollutants and their chemical transformations in the troposphere lead to the formation of secondary air pollutants. The life span of air pollutants can last from hours to decades depending on their chemical characteristics and concentrations at emissions. The need to control and manage the emissions of air pollutants and their ambient concentrations has been addressed through several international and national policy mechanisms that have paved a way for devising control strategies based on scientific solutions. However, these policy actions have not always provided a win-win solution owing to the complex nature of the problem involving multiple sectors and stakeholders. Learning from successful examples of coordinated implementation and timely achievement of objectives (as in the case of Montreal Protocol), it is imperative to build institutions that mature in their approach as the science on the issue develops. This is particularly applicable in the case of air pollution extremes where it is crucial to look for technological innovation while ensuring coordination between multiple agencies. This chapter reviews all the existing international and national policies that outline measures to curtail and abate ambient air pollution in chronic and episodic events as well as targeting abatement from natural and anthropogenic sources. The first half of the chapter covers international policies that have been implemented to address the transboundary pollution with global implications. In the second part, policies adopted in India in response to abatement of deteriorating air quality at the state and national level are reviewed.