Anita Sharma

Anita Sharma
Name	Anita Sharma
Birth date	1974
Birth place	New Delhi, India
Occupation	Environmental scientist, policy advisor, author
Alma mater	Jawaharlal Nehru University; University of Oxford; Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Known for	Urban air quality research; climate policy integration; community-based conservation
Awards	Ramon Magsaysay Award; Tyler Prize nomination

Anita Sharma is an Indian environmental scientist, policy advisor, and author known for integrating urban air quality research with community-driven conservation and international climate policy. Her work bridges applied atmospheric chemistry, public health, and urban planning, informing initiatives across South Asia, Africa, and Latin America. She has held academic appointments and advisory roles with major international institutions and has published extensively in interdisciplinary journals.

Early life and education

Born in New Delhi to a family engaged with public service and the arts, Sharma completed early schooling at The Doon School-affiliate programs and pursued undergraduate studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University where she majored in environmental science and international relations. She earned a master's degree in atmospheric chemistry at the University of Oxford and completed a doctoral degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focusing on particulate matter sources and urban exposure assessment. During postdoctoral work she collaborated with researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and the World Health Organization's air quality programs.

Career

Sharma's career spans academia, international organizations, and public policy. She served as faculty at Jawaharlal Nehru University and as a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and Imperial College London, developing interdisciplinary curricula linking air science and public health. She has been a lead advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme and contributed technical guidance to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on regional emissions. Her consultancy roles included projects with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and municipal governments such as the Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for urban air quality interventions.

Major works and contributions

Sharma published influential studies on source attribution of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), co-authoring papers with teams from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the European Space Agency, and the Indian Space Research Organisation that combined satellite retrievals with ground monitoring. She led community-based monitoring pilots in collaboration with Greenpeace International and local NGOs, integrating low-cost sensors into public health surveillance with partners including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Her policy frameworks on co-benefits between air pollution reduction and climate mitigation were cited in submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and influenced national clean air plans adopted by the Government of India and the Government of Nepal.

Awards and recognition

Sharma received regional and international recognition for scholarship and advocacy. She was a recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service and was shortlisted for the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. Academic honors included research fellowships from the Royal Society and the Fulbright Program, and she was elected to advisory roles with the National Academy of Sciences (United States) climate panel and the Asian Development Bank green finance task force.

Personal life

Sharma married a public health physician associated with All India Institute of Medical Sciences; the couple has collaborated on translational studies linking exposure science and respiratory outcomes. She is multilingual, speaking Hindi, English, and French, and maintains residences in New Delhi and London while undertaking fieldwork in cities such as Kathmandu, Dhaka, and Lagos. She serves on boards of NGOs including The Energy and Resources Institute and human-rights oriented environmental groups.

Legacy and impact

Sharma's interdisciplinary approach reshaped how urban policymakers and international agencies understand and manage air pollution and climate co-benefits. Her methodological innovations in integrating satellite data from Copernicus Programme missions with ground networks influenced monitoring strategies adopted by national agencies such as the Central Pollution Control Board (India). Her mentorship produced a generation of researchers now placed across institutions like Columbia University, Oxford Martin School, and national environmental agencies, and her policy templates continue to inform urban resilience and public health planning in major metropolitan regions.

Category:Indian environmentalists Category:Scientists from New Delhi Category:1974 births Category:Living people