“NEW DELHI — India has nine of the world’s 10 most polluted cities, according to one World Health Organization measure, with choking urban smog that researchers estimate killed 1.24 million people in 2017.

But until this week, it did not have nationally set targets for reducing hazardous air pollution.

That changed this week, when the government’s National Clean Air Program unveiled a five-year plan that environmentalists welcomed as long overdue but criticized as lacking clear mechanisms or robust funding to achieve its aims, which include reducing air pollution in 102 cities by up to 30 percent from 2017 levels.”

Read it on Delhiair.org: India Finally Has Plan to Fight Air Pollution. Environmentalists Are Wary

Washing laundry by the Yamuna River in Agra, India. In autumn and winter, cities across India are blanketed by a toxic haze.CreditCreditXavier Galiana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images