According to a recent report by IQAir Air Visual and Greenpeace, 15 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities are in India. On top of the list is India’s millennium city of Gurugram, a major commercial and residential hub, home to plush offices, high rises and busy highways.

India’s elections began this week, and yet politicians don’t seem to be paying much attention to the quality of the air we all breathe. Should pollution should be a key issue?

We travel to Gurugram to speak to an air pollution expert, an entrepreneur who is in the business of providing air quality solutions, and a young student who’s also a climate activist. Why is Gurugram the world’s most polluted city? How does the air quality here impact lives, businesses and health? And what’s the economic cost of the pollution in this urban centre?

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Contributors: Anumita Roychowdhury, air pollution expert, Centre for Science and Environment; Barun Aggarwal, CEO, Breathe Easy; Asheer Kandhari, student activist

Image: Students wearing anti-air pollution masks while going to school in Gurugram (Credit: Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)