India is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies—but when it comes to environmental performance, the country is near the bottom of the global rankings.
According to Yale University’s 2024 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), India ranked 176th out of 180 countries, placing it among the lowest-performing countries assessed for environmental sustainability.
The ranking raises an uncomfortable question: can India become an economic superpower while continuing to struggle with air pollution, environmental health, water quality and ecosystem protection?
India’s environmental ranking is a major warning
The Environmental Performance Index, produced by Yale University and Columbia University, evaluates countries using 58 indicators across 11 issue categories. These cover climate change, air pollution, biodiversity, forests, fisheries, agriculture, water resources and environmental health.
Only four countries ranked below India. The result places the country’s environmental performance far behind what its growing economic and technological ambitions might suggest.
The biggest shock: environmental health
India ranked 177th globally in Environmental Health, with a score of 13.5. This category measures factors that directly affect people’s well-being, including air quality, sanitation, drinking water and exposure to pollutants.
Air quality: India ranked 177th
The EPI evaluates exposure to PM2.5, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds. For millions of Indians, poor air quality is not merely a number—it is experienced every day in traffic-heavy metropolitan areas and industrial regions.
India’s air pollution comes from multiple sources:
- Vehicle emissions
- Industrial pollution
- Construction and road dust
- Crop-residue burning
- Coal-based energy
- Household solid fuels
- Rapid urbanization
- Seasonal weather conditions
Water, sanitation and biodiversity
India ranked 143rd in Sanitation & Drinking Water. Providing safe water and sanitation for more than 1.4 billion people is an enormous challenge, complicated by rapid urbanization, unequal infrastructure, wastewater-treatment capacity and polluted water resources.
The EPI also assesses ecosystem vitality, including biodiversity and habitat, forests, fisheries, agriculture and water resources. India has enormous biodiversity, but increasing development pressure creates difficult trade-offs between growth and environmental protection.
How should the result be interpreted?
The ranking does not mean every Indian city, state or environmental policy is performing badly. Conditions vary dramatically across the country. The EPI is a country-level comparison based on a defined set of indicators.
India ranked 133rd in the Climate Change policy objective, with a score of 35.0, showing that its performance includes both relatively stronger and significantly weaker areas. The sharpest concerns remain environmental health and air quality.
What can India do?
- 1. Cleaner transportation: Expand public transport, electric mobility and cleaner fuels.
- 2. Better waste management: Strengthen collection, segregation, recycling and scientifically managed disposal.
- 3. Cleaner energy: Increase renewable energy while reducing reliance on highly polluting sources.
- 4. Better wastewater treatment: Improve sewage collection and treatment infrastructure.
- 5. Stronger enforcement: Detect violations and apply environmental regulations consistently.
- 6. Sustainable urban planning: Prioritize public transport, green spaces, drainage, waste management and air quality.
Final takeaway
India’s 176th position should be treated as a warning, not merely another statistic. Development cannot be measured only through GDP, highways, skyscrapers and industrial output. Clean air, safe water, healthy ecosystems and a livable environment are also measures of national progress.
India has the technology, talent and economic potential to improve dramatically. The question is whether environmental sustainability will become central to its development strategy—or remain an issue discussed only when pollution reaches crisis levels.
Source: Yale University, 2024 Environmental Performance Index.