India Experiments with Technology to Curb Air Pollution

Delhi, India — the most polluted city in the world — is dealing with what seems to be the worst air pollution in recorded history… and is turning to some novel tech innovations to provide short-term relief.

Blue Sky: Geoengineering — manipulating the atmosphere with human-made tools — is becoming a hot topic of conversation as the world fails to meet its goals to curb the effects of climate change.

Between the Lines: Last month, Delhi’s PM2.5 levels — the fine particulate matter that makes up smog — was 60x higher than the safety limit set by the World Health Organization.

• Delhi’s Air Quality Index hit a “severe plus” rating of 494 last month — far beyond the 200 threshold that qualifies air as “poor.” It’s been toxic every day since November 12th.
• That’s left residents with symptoms such as “burning eyes, itchy throats, persistent coughs, fever, and breathing difficulties,” per Wired. Continued exposure leads to respiratory diseases and cardiovascular issues.
• So, the company is rolling out its “Winter Action Plan,” which includes seeding clouds with artificial rain, drone monitoring and misting, and mobile anti-smog guns.
• It’s also paused construction and demolition projects to cut down on dust, closed schools to curb car use, and barred diesel- and petrol-powered vehicles from entering the city (vehicle tailpipes are the worst pollution culprit in the city).

The Future: While this is just the beginning of Delhi’s climate combat, the issues are, unfortunately, much more systematic and widespread — the city’s real-time, pollution-source monitoring supersite has been down for over a year, and 70% of the polluted air drifts from outside the city limits. Stagnant weather conditions are trapping the polluted air across India and Pakistan. You can even see it from space. If India’s tech-enabled climate solution works even a little, expect geoengineering to become the hot new sector in Silicon Valley.