India's Air Quality Crisis: Monitoring Gaps and Challenges

A study reveals that around 40% of India's districts lack government-operated air quality monitoring stations, leaving millions uninformed about pollution levels. While urban hubs have dense coverage, medium and large districts remain poorly monitored. The study highlights issues with data reliability and calls for improved infrastructure and services.

A staggering 40% of India's districts are devoid of government-operated air quality monitoring stations, leaving a significant portion of the population without real-time information, according to a study released by Airvoice on Tuesday.

The report, 'Air Quality Data Accessibility in India: Distribution, Gaps, and Network Correlations', highlighted the lack of monitoring coverage in medium-sized cities and densely populated districts, despite the presence of dense networks in major urban areas like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

The report also raised concerns about the reliability of existing monitoring stations, many experiencing frequent outages and incomplete data reporting. As pollution levels in certain areas persist unmet by adequate monitoring, the need for expanded coverage and data stability becomes imperative, said Airvoice CEO Vitalii Matiunin.