China could grant its undersized environment ministry new powers over resources, possibly allowing it to veto future projects, and more muscle to punish polluters as part of a government shake-up t

Beijing: China’s wealthy are making a beeline for the Antarctic.

CSE Wants Action, Not Sparring On Figures

New Delhi: The Centre for Science and Environment has said that instead of sparring over whose data on air pollution is correct and whether or not Delhi’s air quality is better than Beijing’s, the government needs to recognize that the city’s air quality is extremely poor and needs an urgent policy intervention.

Decisive action has helped Beijing move ahead of Delhi as far as controlling air pollution is concerned, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Wednesday said.

"Both Delhi and Beijing had begun their fight against air pollution neck-to-neck, but Delhi has lost steam midway. Beijing has moved ahead because of its decisive action," according to a new study by the CSE.

Effect of introducing CNG in the Capital waning’

The introduction of Compressed Natural Gas in Delhi in the 1990s was applauded by environmentalists. But all the good work seems to have frittered away. The Centre for Science and Environment’s director general, Sunita Narain, on Wednesday said the city had been unsuccessful in reducing pollution levels.

Think twice before taking a deep breath in New Delhi, where worsening air pollution has drawn comparisons with Beijing, the world's pollution poster child.

On bad days in India's congested capital, the air is so murky it slows traffic to a crawl. Conversations are punctuated with rasping coughs. Weak bands of sunlight filter through a grainy sky.

Doctors who have been monitoring air quality data for the last month suggest that the best time to take a stroll for those vulnerable to pollution-related diseases is around 2pm.

This is because PM 10 (coarse) and PM 2.5 (fine, respirable particles) levels stabilize briefly around that time. However, they found that different pollutants dominate at different monitoring stations, for instance benzene levels were much higher than the standard near Mandir Marg while carbon monoxide levels were higher near Anand Vihar.

Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has countered claims that PM 2.5 (fine, respirable particles) pollution in Delhi is higher than in Beijing.

New Delhi: India’s air quality ranks among the lowest five countries in the world, according to a Yale University study that assessed 178 nations.