South Asia’s ambitious expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure could expose the region to significant economic and energy security risks as geopolitical tensions disrupt global energy markets, according to a new report by Global Energy Monitor.

The report warns that escalating conflict in the Middle East, particularly attacks on Iran and disruptions to shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, could sharply affect LNG prices and supply chains, putting pressure on energy-importing economies such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

Data from the Asia Gas Tracker, compiled by Global Energy Monitor, shows that the three South Asian countries have about $107 billion worth of LNG terminals and gas pipelines either announced or currently under construction.

Together, these projects represent a major share of global gas infrastructure expansion. Southern Asia accounts for 17% of global LNG import capacity under development—about 110.7 million tonnes per year—and 17% of global gas pipelines by length, totalling 34,146 kilometres, according to the report.

India’s expanding gas infrastructure

India is pursuing one of the largest gas infrastructure expansions in the world. The report notes that the country is developing the second-largest LNG terminal expansion globally and the third-largest gas pipeline buildout.

A chart in the report indicates that India ranks among the top countries worldwide for pipeline construction, with nearly three-quarters of its planned gas pipeline network already under construction.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh and Pakistan each have enough LNG import capacity in development to roughly double their existing capacity, highlighting the scale of the region’s dependence on imported gas.

Price volatility and project risks

Despite projections that global LNG supply could increase later in the decade, the report warns that the market remains highly sensitive to geopolitical disruptions. Even relatively balanced markets can experience price spikes if shipping routes or production are affected.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East demonstrates how quickly a promising growth market can shift into an affordability crisis, potentially delaying or cancelling major infrastructure projects.

“We’ve seen this story before, and South Asian economies that import LNG will struggle with these price shocks. It’s a reminder of the risks of building new gas infrastructure, and that domestic alternatives like renewable power are more affordable and reliable in the long run..” said Robert Rozansky, global LNG analyst for Global Energy Monitor.

History of cancelled LNG projects

The report also highlights a pattern of stalled or cancelled gas infrastructure projects across the region.

Over the past decade, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan have shelved or cancelled two to three times more LNG import capacity than they have successfully brought online, reflecting the financial and market risks associated with LNG development.

According to the report, India cancelled or shelved 49 million tonnes per annum of LNG capacity, compared with 23 million tonnes that entered operation between 2016 and 2025. Bangladesh and Pakistan show similar trends.

Renewables gaining ground

At the same time, renewable energy is increasingly competing with natural gas in the region’s power sectors.

Solar generation in Pakistan has more than tripled over the past three years, while India is projected to meet over 40% of its electricity demand with renewable energy by 2030.

The report also notes that improvements in energy storage technologies are enhancing grid flexibility, potentially reducing the role of gas as a backup power source.

Emerging alternatives such as green hydrogen could also help reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels for industrial use in the future.

The Asia Gas Tracker, developed by Global Energy Monitor, is an online database that maps and categorises gas infrastructure across the continent, including pipelines, LNG terminals, gas-fired power plants, and gas fields. The tracker is updated annually and documents projects through detailed data pages.

A new analysis of India’s urban air quality has revealed that weather conditions can significantly influence pollution levels, sometimes masking the real health burden faced by residents. The report, released by Climate Trends, argues that India’s clean air policies must account for seasonal and meteorological factors to effectively tackle particulate pollution across major cities.

The study analysed Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) monitoring data from 2024–2025 across six major cities — Delhi, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru — and found that meteorological conditions alone can shift pollution levels by up to 40 percent even without changes in emissions.

Researchers say the findings highlight a major gap in India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and recommend that the upcoming Phase-III reforms include season-specific targets, weather-adjusted evaluation metrics, and dynamic action plans triggered by atmospheric conditions.

Delhi’s extreme winter pollution

The report highlights Delhi as continuing to experience the most severe pollution crisis in the country. The capital recorded the highest annual average PM2.5 levels among the cities analysed and experienced prolonged periods of “Severe” and “Emergency” air quality days.

A particularly alarming finding is that Delhi recorded zero clean air days during winter, despite apparent annual improvements in pollution metrics.

According to the researchers, this discrepancy arises because annual averages can hide seasonal pollution spikes that occur during unfavourable weather conditions such as low wind speeds and high humidity.

“This study shows that a 20–30% reduction in annual PM2.5 does not translate into winter air-quality compliance in stagnation-prone cities like Delhi and Patna, where over 70% of days fall under low-wind, high-humidity meteorological regimes. NCAP Phase-III must therefore adopt season-specific targets, meteorology-triggered interventions, and airshed-level management frameworks to achieve meaningful public-health gains,” Aarti Khosla, Founder and Director of Climate Trends, said in a statement.

Weather plays a decisive role

The report emphasises that air pollution is not simply an “emissions-only” problem. Instead, it is strongly shaped by how emissions interact with atmospheric conditions.

Periods of atmospheric stagnation — characterised by low wind speeds and high humidity — prevent pollutants from dispersing, allowing them to accumulate near the ground and intensify exposure levels for urban populations.

Sagnik Dey, Head of the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at IIT Delhi, explained the scientific basis for this pattern.

“The persistence of PM2.5 exceedances is strongly associated with sub-1 m/s wind regimes and elevated relative humidity across northern cities, where stagnation episodes sustain disproportionately high exposure levels. Ventilation efficiency emerges as the dominant determinant of inter-city variability. However, current NCAP evaluation frameworks primarily assess observed concentration changes without explicitly accounting for meteorological modulation, potentially leading to distorted interpretations of policy effectiveness. Integrating meteorological regime analytics is therefore essential to ensure a scientifically robust and equitable Phase-III evaluation.”

The study also estimates that simply shifting from stagnant atmospheric conditions to well-ventilated ones could reduce PM2.5 levels by 35–40 percent, demonstrating the powerful role of weather in shaping urban air quality.

Emerging patterns across Indian cities

Beyond Delhi, the report identifies several emerging trends across India’s major urban centres.

Southern cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, historically considered less polluted, are beginning to show signs of winter-time air quality deterioration, signalling a new vulnerability. Meanwhile, Mumbai and Chennai recorded increases in annual pollution levels in 2025, suggesting that pollution challenges are expanding beyond seasonal spikes into year-round concerns.

Patna continues to face an intensifying crisis, emerging as the second-most polluted city after Delhi, driven in part by persistent atmospheric stagnation across the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain.

In contrast, Bengaluru stands out for maintaining relatively stable and lower pollution levels, reflecting what researchers describe as “structural air-quality resilience.”

Kolkata’s complex pollution dynamics

Kolkata presents a unique case where meteorology interacts strongly with local pollution sources.

Dr. Abhinandan Ghosh of IISER Kolkata said meteorological conditions play a key role in winter pollution episodes in the city. “As a community of atmospheric scientists, we have long cautioned against a simplistic rat race to replicate Western PM₂.₅ benchmarks, for the Indian subcontinent is endowed with its own meteorological idiosyncrasies, complex topography, and friable alluvial soils that elevate baseline particulate concentrations. The report vindicates this standpoint: in Kolkata, it is not emissions alone but the capricious tyranny of winter boundary-layer dynamics – attenuated mixing heights and enfeebled dispersion – that engenders the most deleterious pollution episodes.”

Professor Abhijit Chatterjee of the Bose Institute pointed to biomass and waste burning as major contributors to winter pollution in the city.

“Amongst several sources, at the current scenario, biomass and waste burning are the major concern in Kolkata especially in winter. The high load of PM2.5 exceeding national standards in winter, primarily due to these two sources which accumulate near the surface because of low dispersion and ventilation coefficients.”

Need for season-specific policies

The study concludes that India’s clean air strategy must move beyond a uniform annual target system and instead adopt seasonally calibrated and meteorology-aware policies.

Experts argue that incorporating weather dynamics into pollution management would help policymakers better assess the effectiveness of interventions and design more realistic mitigation strategies.

Without such reforms, the report warns, improvements in annual averages may continue to mask severe seasonal pollution episodes that pose serious health risks to millions of urban residents.

India international students are expected to grow rapidly over the next decade, with a new QS report forecasting annual growth of about 8% through 2030.

India is poised to strengthen its position as a major global education destination, with international student enrolments projected to grow steadily in the coming years, according to a new report by global higher education analytics firm QS Quacquarelli Symonds.

The report, QS Global Student Flows: India 2026, forecasts that inbound student numbers will grow by around 8% annually through 2030, starting from an estimated base of 58,000 international students in 2025.

The analysis highlights a shifting landscape in global student mobility. Tightening visa regulations and rising costs in traditional study destinations such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia are encouraging many international students to consider more affordable and accessible alternatives — with India increasingly emerging as a strong contender.

Regional Demand Driving Growth

South Asia remains the largest source of international students for India. Countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh together account for more than 30% of incoming students, and Nepal’s numbers alone are projected to grow at roughly 11% annually.

Demand is also rising significantly from Africa. Student flows from Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow at around 6% annually, driven by expanding youth populations and limited higher education capacity in many African countries. Zimbabwe stands out as a particularly fast-growing market, with projected annual growth of around 11% in students choosing India as a study destination.

Meanwhile, the Middle East and North Africa region continues to contribute steadily to India’s inbound student population, with students from the United Arab Emirates expected to account for about 5% of India’s international student cohort by 2030.

Policy Reforms Strengthening India’s Appeal

The report attributes much of India’s growing attractiveness to policy initiatives and structural reforms in the higher education sector. Programmes such as Study in India have simplified admission processes and reduced financial barriers for international applicants.

At the same time, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has introduced major changes aimed at internationalisation. These include allowing foreign universities to establish campuses in India and enabling institutions to expand seats for international students. The University Grants Commission now permits universities to reserve up to 25% additional seats for overseas applicants.

India’s long-term ambition is even more ambitious. The country aims to host 500,000 international students by 2047, signalling a strong national commitment to becoming a global education hub.

Indian Students Abroad Diversifying Destinations

Even as India attracts more international students, it continues to remain a major source of global student mobility. More than 800,000 Indian students were studying abroad in 2024, making India the world’s second-largest source of international students.

However, the report suggests that the traditional “Big Four” destinations — the US, UK, Canada, and Australia — may see a slight decline in their share of Indian students, with combined enrolments expected to fall by around 0.5% annually through 2030.

Instead, Indian students are increasingly exploring new destinations such as Germany, France, and the United Arab Emirates, attracted by lower tuition costs and accessible study pathways.

Key Challenges for Indian Universities

Despite the optimistic outlook, the report identifies several challenges that India must address to fully realise its potential as an international education hub.

One major issue is institutional reputation. While Indian universities have improved their employer reputation rankings — with the median score improving by 61 places since 2017 — academic reputation indicators have shown limited progress.

“India has long been central to global student mobility — as both a major sending market and an increasingly influential destination”

Another challenge relates to graduate employability. A Mercer-Mettl report in 2025 found that only 42.6% of Indian graduates are considered employable, highlighting the need for stronger industry connections and work-integrated learning opportunities.

Infrastructure also remains a concern. Rapid expansion of international enrolments without adequate investments in housing, campus facilities, and student support services could undermine the overall student experience.

A Strategic Moment for India

Ashwin Fernandes, Chair QS India and Vice President for Strategic and International Engagement at QS, emphasised that India now stands at a critical moment in global higher education mobility.

“India has long been central to global student mobility — as both a major sending market and an increasingly influential destination. The conditions are shifting in India’s favour, from government policy and affordability to regional demographic pressure. But sustaining this momentum will require institutions to close the gap between reputation and real-world graduate outcomes.”

Scenarios for 2030

The report outlines three possible scenarios for the future of India’s higher education landscape by 2030. These include stronger regional student flows across Asia and Africa, the rise of technology-enabled hybrid learning models, and a global competition among countries to attract international talent.

How India responds to these shifts, the report concludes, will determine whether the country can convert its growing demand advantage into lasting leadership in international education.