Ipsa Tripathy
Bhubaneswar: India’s environmental story is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Rapid economic growth, expanding cities, rising energy demand and large-scale infrastructure development have transformed the country in a few decades. At the same time, air pollution, biodiversity loss, pressure on ecosystems and climate-related risks are becoming more visible. One indicator captures part of this complicated picture: the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).
The latest 2026 Environmental Performance Index, produced by the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy in collaboration with Columbia University, ranks 177 countries across 47 indicators and 12 environmental issue categories under three broad objectives: environmental health, ecosystem vitality and climate change. India ranks 176th, with an overall score of 22.46 out of 100.
The number is alarming. But it needs to be understood carefully. The EPI is not simply a ranking of how “clean” or “dirty” a country is. It measures performance against a range of environmental policy targets using internationally comparable indicators. India’s position therefore points towards areas where environmental outcomes remain particularly weak.
India’s environmental-health performance is among the weakest areas identified by the EPI. The country ranks 174th for Environmental Health, with a score of 15.13, and 175th for Air Quality, with a score of only 7.89. These figures matter because air pollution is not an abstract environmental problem. It directly affects human health.
Fine particulate matter, particularly PM2.5, can penetrate deep into the respiratory system and is associated with serious health impacts. India’s EPI results show that air-quality performance remains a major weakness even though some individual indicators show improvement over the longer term.
The challenge is therefore not simply reducing pollution during particularly bad winter episodes. It requires sustained action across transport, industry, power generation, construction, waste management, household energy use and agricultural practices.
Biodiversity Is Another Warning Signal
India is one of the world’s biologically diverse countries, containing ecosystems ranging from the Himalayas and deserts to tropical forests, wetlands, mangroves and coral reefs. Yet the EPI places India at 174th in Biodiversity & Habitat, with a score of 9.09. Its rank for terrestrial biome protection is 176th, with a score of 1.13.
These numbers highlight an important contradiction. A country may possess enormous biological diversity while simultaneously experiencing intense pressure on habitats. Roads, railways, mining, urban expansion, agriculture and other forms of land-use change can fragment ecosystems. When habitats become divided, wildlife populations can become isolated and ecological connectivity can decline. Conservation therefore cannot be measured only by counting protected areas. The quality, representativeness and ecological connectivity of those protected areas also matter.
India’s performance on climate-related indicators cannot be reduced to a single positive or negative statement. The 2026 EPI gives India a rank of 130 for Climate Change Mitigation, with a score of 28.01. The country also performs differently across individual climate indicators. For example, India ranks 128th for greenhouse-gas emission trends adjusted for population, while its carbon flux from land-use change indicator receives a rank of 1 in the EPI’s methodology. This demonstrates why the overall EPI score must be examined alongside its individual components. A country can make progress in one environmental area while continuing to struggle in another.
Why Does the Ranking Matter?
There is an important limitation to keep in mind. The EPI is a comparative index. It does not capture every environmental reality within a country, and its score should not be interpreted as a complete description of India’s environment. India is also a country of enormous geographical, economic and ecological diversity. Conditions in a Himalayan district, a coastal village, an industrial city and a dryland farming region can be completely different.
Yet this does not make the EPI irrelevant. Its greatest value lies in identifying patterns. India’s particularly low scores in air quality, environmental health and biodiversity indicate that environmental pressures are not isolated problems. They are connected to how land, water, energy and natural resources are managed.
Development and Environment Cannot Remain Separate
India needs economic development. Millions of people still require better housing, transportation, employment, electricity, sanitation and infrastructure. The question is not whether development should stop. The question is what kind of development should be pursued. A road that fragments a critical wildlife corridor, a city that expands without adequate sewage treatment, or an industrial project that places excessive pressure on local water resources may generate economic benefits while creating environmental costs that appear years later.
Those costs are ultimately borne by communities. Environmental protection therefore cannot remain a separate department’s responsibility. It has to become part of urban planning, transport policy, agriculture, industry, energy and infrastructure development.
The Numbers Should Be a Warning, Not a Verdict
India’s rank of 176th should neither be dismissed nor treated as a final judgment on the country. The EPI itself shows that environmental performance can change. India’s overall EPI score has improved over the longer term, with the 2026 assessment recording a 10-year change of 7.47 points.
But improvement from a low baseline is not enough. The real question is whether environmental progress can keep pace with India’s economic and demographic transformation. The answer will depend on the quality of air people breathe, the condition of rivers and groundwater, the resilience of forests and wetlands, the survival of wildlife and the country’s ability to reduce pollution while meeting growing energy needs.
The EPI has given India a number. The number is uncomfortable. But perhaps that is precisely why it matters. Environmental rankings should not be viewed as competitions between nations. They should function as warning systems showing where policy is failing, where progress is insufficient and where action needs to become faster.
For India, the message from the latest EPI is clear: economic growth cannot be separated from environmental performance. A healthier environment is not an obstacle to development. It is one of the conditions on which lasting development depends.