Name: New Delhi struggles with toxic air
Uploaded: 2025-11-14T17:22:55.589Z
Duration: 2 min 41 s
Description: Hospitals in the Indian capital New Delhi are seeing a sharp rise in patients with respiratory and cardiovascular issues. The city is struggling with toxic air that’s nearly 30 times the level the World Health Organization deems safe.

Hospitals in the Indian capital New Delhi are seeing a sharp rise in patients with respiratory and cardiovascular issues. The city is struggling with toxic air that’s nearly 30 times the level the World Health Organization deems safe.

New Delhi

New Delhi has been enveloped in thick smog for several weeks, with air quality reaching the severe category according to both government and private monitors. The hazardous conditions have led to empty streets, respiratory health issues among residents, and hospitalizations, particularly affecting vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.

Authorities have responded by imposing bans on non-essential construction and polluting industrial activities, and shifting school classes online. However, critics argue that these measures are reactive and insufficient for long-term improvement, as data from 2022 links over 1.7 million deaths in India to outdoor air pollution. Recent protests in the city highlight growing public demand for more effective action.

New Delhi struggles with toxic air

For weeks, thick smog has blanketed New Delhi. The air quality, now in the severe category, as measured by government and private monitors. It's become so dangerous, some of the city's normally crowded streets are almost empty. But not everyone has the option to stay indoors. As a courier, Sonupal has to be out on the road most days. The constant exposure to pollution, he says, has led to respiratory issues. My breathing is labored and sometimes it feels as if I'm going to die. If someone smokes next to me, or when I'm in traffic, it causes a lot of discomfort and I have to use a nebulizer to get relief. And after 9pm, my eyes are always watery. Health experts say children and the elderly are also some of the most vulnerable. Seven-year-old Kiran has been in hospital for days due to asthma. She starts coughing when air pollution kicks in. We avoid going outdoors, but kids seldom listen. In the past, she'd get better, but this time she had to be hospitalized. Air quality in India's capital, and largest city, typically deteriorates during the winter season. The cold weather and stagnant winds trap vehicular and industrial emissions, and smoke drifts from neighboring states where farmers burn crops double. The government has imposed tighter anti-pollution measures, including a ban on non-essential construction and industrial activity using polluting fuels. Schools have been ordered to shift classes online to protect children. Air pollution impacts children more than the adults, simply because one, they're growing. Secondly, they have more minute volume. That means every minute they breathe more air than anybody else. But critics say measures by the government are band-aid solutions that don't prevent the problem from recurring. The Greater Response Action Plan is a reactive measure that's implemented once air pollution levels cross a certain threshold. It doesn't really allow much room for sustained improvements that need to occur throughout the year. And with data showing more than 1.7 million deaths in India linked to outdoor air pollution in 2022, people may no longer accept this haze as seasonal. Hundreds gathered in a rare protest last weekend, demanding the right to breathe safely. Barnabello, Al Jazeera.

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