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Why Air Pollution In The Northeast Needs Urgent Attention
['Tanvi Deshpande', 'Tanvi Deshpande Is A Special Correspondent', 'Environment', 'Climate Change', 'At Indiaspend. She Is Based In Mumbai.']
IndiaSpend: Data journalism, analysis on Indian economy, education, healthcare, agriculture, politics
Mumbai: Winter air pollution in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) caught the country’s attention as early as October.
Experts warn that air quality is a problem beyond the non-attainment cities targeted under India’s National Clean Air Programme ( NCAP ) and that India needs to look at airsheds instead of cities.
IndiaSpend wrote to the Union environment ministry, Central Pollution Control Board and the chief ministers of each state in the Northeast with detailed questions on what steps are being taken to control air pollution.
But over the years, air quality in the larger Northeast region has become a cause for concern.
India measures its air quality as per the National Ambient Air Quality Standards or NAAQS which are more lax than the standards recommended by the World Health Organisation.