Clean Air Catalyst – Understanding Indore’s Air

Globally, 99% of people breathe air with levels of pollutants that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines (WHO, 2022). Low- and middle-income nations bear the brunt of the burden, with the greatest toll on populations living in the WHO’s Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions. According to WHO’s database of polluted cities, released in April 2018, India accounted for 14 out of the top 15 cities for worst fine particulate matter pollution (PM2.5).

With a population of more than 3.4 million, Indore is the most populous city and the second largest city by area in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and serves as a commercial and industrial hub for the state. Manufacturing and service industries are the main economic activities, with the industrial belt mostly concentrated at Pithampur to the southwest of the city and Sanwer to the north (Guttikunda & Jawahar, 2012).

Air pollution data available over the past five years from two manual sites in Indore suggests that PM2.5 concentrations exceed WHO annual average standard of 5 μg/m3 and are increasing. The PM2.5 annual averages measured in 2019 at the three manual monitoring sites in Indore (based on measurements made approximately every third day) are all between 36–39 μg/m3. The highest pollution is measured during the postmonsoon season (October–November) and during the winter months (DecemberFebruary), due in part to lower wind speeds and shallower planetary boundary layer during these months.

The Clean Air Catalyst (CAC) is a five-year flagship program funded by the United States Agency for International Development to accelerate clean air solutions in three pilot cities including Indore, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Nairobi, Kenya. Its core strategies are building awareness of the sources of air pollution through collecting and analyzing air pollution data, identifying solutions that address the root causes of pollution and building a strategic coalition to advance those solutions. CAC takes an integrated approach with the goal of reducing air pollution while achieving health and climate benefits, as well as mitigating gender disparities due to the disproportionate impacts of pollution on women and vulnerable populations. It also seeks to empower women as clean air champions.

In this highlight note, CAC wants to share what we know about air pollution in Indore, how it impacts health and the climate and what we can do about it. Our goal is to reduce emissions while empowering women as Clean Air Catalysts.