As air pollution tightens its grip over Indian cities with the onset of the winter pollution season, the urgency to transform how we communicate the clean air message has never been greater. While awareness has grown, the question remains: how do we make people care enough to act, and policymakers move fast enough to respond?
The latest edition of the EPIC India Dialogue, titled “Rethinking Narratives for Clean Air,” on October 16th, brought together communication and research experts to explore how data, storytelling, and community engagement can drive meaningful action for clean air. The session featured Pallavi Pant, Head of Global Initiatives at the Health Effects Institute, and Tanushree Ganguly, Director of the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI). The conversation was moderated by Ashirbad S. Raha, Regional Communications Director at EPIC India and convened close to 20 industry colleagues and representatives from more than 10 leading organizations, including the International Council on Clean Transportation (IICT), CLASP, CSTEP, IIT Delhi, Sustainable Futures Collaborative, Swaniti Initiative, and the Ashoka Centre for a People-centric Energy Transition (ACPET).
Opening the discussion, Pallavi Pant underscored that while public awareness of air pollution has increased, awareness without solutions risks complacency. “There is growing awareness about air pollution. But if we do not provide a solution, people are going to get accustomed to this problem,” she noted. Pant emphasized that air pollution must be framed not as a standalone environmental issue, but as part of a broader system, one that intersects with waste management, transport, clean cooking, and emissions. To move cities toward action, she stressed the need for tangible, localized solutions that communities can rally around.
“Beyond Delhi, we need to make air quality communication local: in language, in leadership, and in lived experience,” she said, pointing to the power of trusted, community-based messengers in sustaining engagement and catalyzing behavioral change.
Tanushree Ganguly drew attention to the role of data in shaping public understanding, but only when that data connects with people’s lived realities. “Data needs to be local, emotional, and personal. Only then will people connect with the numbers we put out,” she said, citing the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) as an effort to translate complex air quality data into life expectancy losses that individuals can relate to. Ganguly added that health impact framing is not merely a catalyst but an accelerator for action. Effective communication, she noted, requires translating evidence into stories that humanize data, helping communities and decision-makers alike understand what’s at stake.
Both speakers converged on a powerful idea — that investing in clean air is investing in economic upliftment. Poor air quality doesn’t just threaten public health; it erodes productivity, reduces incomes, and deepens inequality, especially for vulnerable communities engaged in outdoor labour. As Pallavi observed, “Air pollution isn’t just an environmental issue — it’s deeply connected to people’s livelihoods. Cleaner air means better lives and stronger communities.”
The discussion highlighted four emerging priorities for communicators and policymakers alike: shifting from awareness to actionable solutions, localizing air quality narratives in language and leadership, bridging data and emotion by translating numbers into relatable stories, and positioning clean air as a public and economic good — not a niche environmental cause. Participants engaged actively with our speakers in a lively Q&A session, posing questions about what individuals can do in their daily lives to change the narrative and address the air pollution crisis. They also discussed how young researchers can contribute fresh ideas and innovative solutions to make a real difference.
Wrapping up the discussion, our Regional Communications Director, Ashirbad Raha, tied together the key insights shared and remarked, “To reframe the narrative around air pollution in India, it’s absolutely critical that we put health impacts at the top — only when citizens and policymakers feel the threat personally are they likely to act. Equally crucial is making stories local and sustaining messaging year-round, so the conversation is not just seasonal or regional. Blending these factors can help us accelerate our journey from awareness to action.”
The Dialogue concluded with a shared understanding that air pollution communication must evolve beyond statistics to stories that inspire. As cities grapple with poor air quality and policymakers seek lasting interventions, rethinking the narrative is not just about messaging: it’s about mobilizing change.
This was the fifth edition of the EPIC India Dialogue, a flagship series that convenes experts to debate and discuss India’s energy and environmental challenges. Previous editions have explored topics such as leveraging emissions trading in the Asia-Pacific, development-led energy transition pathways to India’s net zero goals, communicating climate science beyond jargon and the health and mortality impacts of climate change, especially flooding.