Delhi’s air and its declining quality have unfortunately become the hallmark of the general discourse of the country towards the end of the year and almost all throughout Winter.
Lungs are Burning
To no one’s surprise, the Winter of 2024 is no different, with the landlocked capital city breaking the most undesirable records, very early on in the season.
According to reports, Delhi and its neighbouring regions’ air quality has vacillated between poor to hazardous in the past few weeks.
Entrepreneur and managing director of Homestays and villas and Mangalya destination weddings, Siddharth Bakaria, was the latest victim of the horror show that the city has turned into.
Bakaria took to his X account to talk about his ordeal. In his post, “I Arrived in Delhi this morning from Himachal, and the air quality is unbearable.”
Bakaria further stated, “My lungs are burning, heading to the hospital. This pollution crisis needs urgent attention.”
IQair
Delhi’s Toxic Air
As per IQAir, the quality of air or AQI measured by the level PM 2.5 air pollution stands at 109 in Himachal’s Shimla, which has been categorised as unhealthy for sensitive groups with severe illness of any kind or people belonging to specific age groups, may it be children or the elderly.
Meanwhile in Delhi, the AQI stands at 193 which is Unhealthy.
It however needs to be noted that the AQI despite the current poor showing had improved in the recent past. Previously, earlier in the season, for most of November, the AQI hovered in territories beyond the scales prescribed in the Indian parameters.
Often multiple reasons are cited behind this surge in pollution levels in the country’s capital, from its proximity to the Himalayan mountain range. Of course human activities are key to the current conundrum, pollution originating from using fossil fuels and burning stubble in farms.
