Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK experts launch project to tackle Delhi air pollution risks

Indian and British experts are joining hands on a project to help tackle health problems associated with air pollution in Delhi, which affect some 46 million people in and around the country’s capital city.

With air pollution levels at times up to 30 times greater than those found in the UK, Delhi was rated the most polluted city in the world for ambient air pollution by World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2014.


Involving leading researchers from universities in India and the UK, the team put together by Birmingham air pollution experts will investigate the causes of pollution in the Indian capital city, which is home to some 18 million people, a release by the Birmingham University said on Monday (23).

‘ASAP-Delhi: An Integrated Study of Air Pollutant Sources in the Delhi National Capital Region’ is supported by a 1.4 million pound grant from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) Air Pollution and Human Health programme.

Led by the University of Birmingham, the team involves experts from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the Indian National Physical Laboratory and the University of Surrey

“This project will allow us to definitively quantify the contributions of different sources to fine particles in Delhi’s air - a key step to solving this problem,” Professor Mukesh Khare, from IIT Delhi, said.

Experts will measure airborne particulate matter and analyse how the pollution is being generated.

Results from this work will feed into other research projects in a wider NERC programme and be used to help efficiently reduce pollution levels and improve population health

“Some 46 million people live in and around Delhi and extremely high particulate matter levels are responsible for damaging citizens’ health and the environment, leaving man people unable to work, which has significant economic implications for the region,” said professor William Bloss, head of the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham.

“As a global ‘civic’ university, the University of Birmingham looks to enrich the life of both our home city and others globally. This partnership in Delhi chimes with prime minister Narendra Modi’s Smart Cities Mission to make India’s cities citizen-friendly and sustainable.”

Bloss added that many Asian countries, including India, were undergoing rapid industrial development and urbanisation, leading to sharp increases in population exposure to poor air quality in cities – mainly fine and ultrafine particles.

“We’ve designed the project to better understand the sources of the most dangerous air pollutants in Delhi,” Bloss said

“It partners leading researchers from India and the UK and will allow us to assess the likely effectiveness of changes in behaviour – for example odd/even number plate traffic bans - to improve air quality.”

More For You

Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Probing all angles in Air India crash, including sabotage: Minister

INDIA’s junior civil aviation minister said on Sunday that all possible angles, including sabotage, were being looked into as part of the investigation into the Air India crash.

All but one of the 242 people on board the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner were killed when it crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. Authorities have identified 19 others who died on the ground. However, a police source told AFP after the crash that the death toll on the ground was 38.

Keep ReadingShow less
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury

Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury

BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.

"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).

Keep ReadingShow less
Three killed, dozens injured in India temple stampede

Police officials visit the site after a stampede near Shree Gundicha Temple, in Puri, Odisha, Sunday, June 29, 2025. (PTI Photo)

Three killed, dozens injured in India temple stampede

AT LEAST three people, including two women, died and around 50 others were injured in a stampede near the Shree Gundicha Temple in Puri, Odisha, Indian, on Sunday (29) morning, according to local officials.

The incident occurred around 4am (local time) as hundreds of devotees gathered to witness the Rath Yatra (chariot festival), Puri district collector Siddharth S Swain confirmed.

Keep ReadingShow less
F-35B jet

The UK has agreed to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.

Indian Air Force

F-35B jet still stranded in Kerala, UK sends engineers for repair

UK AVIATION engineers are arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to carry out repairs on an F-35B Lightning jet belonging to the Royal Navy, which has remained grounded after an emergency landing 12 days ago.

The jet is part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the UK's Royal Navy. It made the emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft, valued at over USD 110 million, is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahmedabad air crash
Relatives carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in the Air India Flight 171 crash, during a funeral ceremony in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ahmedabad crash: Grief, denial and trauma haunt families

TWO weeks after the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, families of victims are grappling with grief and trauma. Psychiatrists are now working closely with many who continue to oscillate between denial and despair.

The crash occurred on June 12, when the London-bound flight hit the BJ Medical College complex shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and 29 on the ground. Only one passenger survived.

Keep ReadingShow less