pulkit sharma

Beijing had an AQI reading of 700+ in 2013. It was called an 'airpocalypse'. Schools were shut down. Flights were cancelled. Highways were closed. Hospitals overflowed. It was international embarrassment as foreign embassies issued health warnings and called Beijing “unlivable.” But China didn't have a chalta hai attitude. $100 billion were set aside and an anti-pollution strategy was put in place. They banned coal in homes, shut 2500 factories, moved heavy industry out of Beijing. Phased out old vehicles, limited car ownership, introduced electric buses. Built ring roads lined with trees, cracked down on construction dust, and invested billions in clean energy. Beijing's AQI in 2025 hovers between 30 to 50. From 700 to 50 in 10 years. It can be done. If China can do it, so can India. All it requires is a national will and the ability to take tough decisions and execute. Do what needs to be done. Treat it like a year-long crisis, not a seasonal nuisance. No amount of development and prosperity is worth it, if our children can't breathe clean air in cities. It must be priority number 1, priority number 2, and priority number 10.