India’s winter smog is often seen as a domestic problem, but new research shows that the toxic air choking millions is not confined by borders. Even as the government rolls out policies to control stubble burning, regulate industry and curb vehicular emissions, a significant share of the pollution drifting over Indian cities originates in neighbouring countries. Experts say that without coordinated regional action across South Asia, India’s efforts will continue to fall short.
A report by the World Bank, titled Striving for Clean Air, shows that as much as 30 per cent of Punjab’s air pollution comes from Pakistan. Wind patterns carry emissions, dust and smoke across hundreds of kilometres, crossing state and national boundaries. The research also finds that around 30 per cent of the pollution exposure in Bangladesh’s largest cities originates in India, carried by prevailing north-west to south-east wind directions. These findings highlight a harsh truth: air pollution is not a local issue, it is a shared airshed.
Delhi, regarded as the world’s most polluted capital, illustrates the limits of tackling pollution city by city. According to the World Bank analysis, even if Delhi were to achieve full compliance with every feasible domestic control measure by 2030, it would still fail to meet the World Health Organization’s first interim air quality target. More than half of Delhi’s particulate pollution is estimated to enter the city from surrounding states and across borders. Experts argue that without cooperation between multiple governments, efforts by a single region will not produce meaningful change.
India’s major air quality programmes continue to face institutional and financial hurdles. The National Clean Air Programme recommends coordinated action plans for states in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but implementation is slowed by lack of accountability and limited funding. The Commission for Air Quality Management, created to address pollution in the National Capital Region, has authority only over one airshed. Research by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air repeatedly stresses the need to govern entire polluted regions rather than isolated urban zones.
The scale of the problem is clearly reflected in recent health data. The Air Quality Life Index 2025 report warns that residents of northern India are losing an average of 3.5 years of life expectancy due to extreme exposure to fine particulate matter. It notes that emissions originating in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and India collectively blanket much of South Asia in dangerously polluted air, with the northern plains among the worst affected regions on the planet.
Several policy recommendations suggest a way forward. The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air’s study on transboundary pollution governance calls for shared air quality standards, joint enforcement strategies and coordinated monitoring systems.
A model program by the United Nations Development Programme in Amritsar advocates an integrated, multi-sectoral plan involving agriculture, transport, urban planning and public health. This approach emphasises cooperation between stakeholders on both sides of the border and encourages policies that target both local and regional sources of pollution.
For any long-term improvement, analysts say India must strengthen legal and institutional structures for cross-border environmental cooperation. Broader authority for regulatory bodies, sustained funding, and clear accountability frameworks are essential to carry out effective interventions. Experts believe that collective action could reduce average pollution exposure by nearly 40 per cent, offering both economic and public health benefits.
India has taken important steps to control pollution, but the scientific evidence is unambiguous: clean air cannot be achieved by domestic reforms alone. Until South Asia embraces coordinated environmental governance, its cities will continue to struggle under toxic skies, and millions will remain exposed to hazardous air that endangers lives every day.