Pekin and New Delhi endured for years the gray, suffocating haze that blurred outlines and earned harsh labels like airpocalipsis or gas chamber. Today Delhi stands alone. To understand the success of one and the failure of the other, one must move beyond comforting dogmas: no dictatorship in the world runs its affairs more smoothly than China when it comes to governance, and poverty does not breed environmental awareness in a vacuum.
The two Asian powers share the root of the problem. Rapid industrialization and swift urbanization in societies with deep agricultural roots produced a true environmental crisis. China hit its peak in the past decade after years of frenzied development, counting 75 percent of its cities among the world’s 100 most polluted. Its heavy reliance on coal threatened the global fight against climate change.
India arrived later but with a similar push. The current ranking now shows 65 Indian cities on the list, compared with 16 in China, and New Delhi has held the top spot for five years running. Pollution in China fell by about 42.3 percent between 2013 and 2021, according to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, which noted the intensity of China’s effort as the main driver of this modest global improvement. The United Nations has spoken of the “Beijing miracle,” highlighting its example for developing regions. “No other city or region on the planet has achieved that reduction,” stated a 2019 report.
Nobody can overlook the immense room for improvement. In those leaden years, skies dictated daily life. Beijingers checked pollution levels on their phones each morning and chose biking or taxis, gym or couch, office or home. It was common to protect themselves indoors for days with air purifiers running at full blast. Officially, it remains more polluted than any American city, but blue skies are no longer the rare spectacle they once were.
Progressive awareness
The environmental conscience in China grew gradually. Environmentalists were eyed with curiosity two decades ago and in the smoky factories progress was seen. The rising middle class, once basic needs were secured, did not demand Western-style freedoms but a less hostile ecosystem. The government declared a war on pollution in 2014, approved a package of reforms, and expanded funding dramatically: from about $430 million in 2013 to roughly $2.6 billion in 2017. In the years that followed, China’s pivot to green energy became a defining feature of its policy landscape, drawing friction with the United States and Europe as it pushed ahead with electric cars and solar panels. The reform seeped down to the lowest levels of governance, and officials, once judged primarily on GDP, began to face accountability for ecological progress. Hebei, the province that surrounds Beijing, bore the brunt of sacrifices made for the common good. Dozens of steel and coal plants shuttered, and millions of workers faced layoffs. The provincial party chief recalled the hardships of Hebei in parliamentary remarks that failed to meet the level of public complaint.
The shift toward green energy in India also gathered pace. In 2019, India launched the Clean Air Programme aimed at cutting particle pollution by about 40 percent by 2025. It’s a stretch, and some doubt its reach, but the trend is not negligible. The trajectory has halted a previously steep climb in pollution levels, though it remains far from the development curve China cemented with its ambitious commitments. Surveys show that air quality is not among the top concerns for most Indians, even as several studies link pollution to more than two million deaths each year. The government’s response lacks the political energy seen in China, and public pressure does not always translate into immediate, decisive action.
Shared policy directions
The policies echo in both nations. Heavy industry has been moved away from city cores, the dirtiest vehicles have been removed from roads, public transport has expanded, and air monitoring networks have become more pervasive. Yet many projects still struggle for funding to move beyond paper. At times, strategies miss the mark, and political gridlock can slow progress. In India, the democratic system complicates alignment between national, state, and local administrations even in urgent matters. The environmental agenda has become part of the political arsenal, not a sideline issue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accused New Delhi’s leaders of being passive and unresponsive. The Aam Aadmi Party, ruling the capital and a parliamentary opposition, has criticized the national government for insufficient funding. The dispute has spilled into neighboring states, where farmers burn crop residues to prepare fields for sowing, a practice both banned and widespread that accounts for a significant share of Delhi’s pollution. The confrontation has strained institutions, including the Supreme Court, the most revered authority. “We cannot have a political battle every time; enough is enough on this matter,” one magistrate recently observed.
Beijing has shown the will, a roadmap, and the capacity to implement it. Yet fireworks and rocket signals mark the gap between rhetoric and reality. The Chinese New Year and India’s Diwali, once punctuating the air with explosions, have become regulated through policy. China banned such fireworks years ago for environmental reasons, a change Delhi has struggled to enact. The two metropolises continue to contend with a shared challenge, each in its own way yet moving toward cleaner skies.
In summary, the arc of both nations reveals a common awakening to environmental stakes, a struggle to translate ambition into consistent action, and a reminder that governance, economics, and public health are deeply intertwined when the air itself becomes a measure of a country’s progress.
––