India’s relentless drive towards the ambitious 280 GW solar target for 2030 is riddled with obstacles. Recent trends show that availability of land for solar projects is becoming a cause for concern. For example, after the 2 GW Pavagada Solar Park in Karnataka, plans were announced in 2019 to have three more parks (2.5 GW each) in Kopal, Bidar, and Gadag, but land parcels for these parks could not be identified in the last 4 years.

By 2030, India aims to source 50% of electric power from non-fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions by 45% from 2005 levels. To achieve this target, the 2023 National Electricity Plan by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has estimated the need for 486 GW of variable renewables (solar and wind).

On August 25, 2023, Karnataka clocked the highest-ever peak demand for energy at 16,950 MW. This unusual surge (the state normally experiences peak demand in the summer months) was driven by factors such as escalated energy consumption due to the provision of free power up to 200 units/month to domestic consumers, poor rainfall leading to increased energy consumption by farmers, and heightened commercial and industrial activities within the state.

Public health is a fundamental pillar of society, with inextricable links to a country’s economic growth. For a service-, agriculture-, and manufacturing-driven economy like India with a population of over 140 crore, citizen welfare directly influences labour force participation and productivity.

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Mobile monitoring can supplement regulatory measurements, particularly in low-income countries where stationary monitoring is sparse. Here, we report results from a ~ year-long mobile monitoring campaign of on-road concentrations of black carbon (BC), ultrafine particles (UFP), and carbon dioxide (CO2) in Bengaluru, India. The study route included 150 unique kms (average: ~22 repeat measurements per monitored road segment).

Mobile monitoring provides robust measurements of air pollution. However, resource constraints often limit the number of measurements so that assessments cannot be obtained in all locations of interest. In response, surrogate measurement methodologies, such as videos and images, have been suggested. Previous studies of air pollution and images have used static images (e.g., satellite images or Google Street View images).