Delhi's air pollution equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes but experts say it can be fixed

Every year as winter descends, Delhi’s air thickens into an opaque, toxic fog.

People are reduced to coughing fits. Throats burn. As do eyes. Chests feel heavy and breathing is laboured.

“It’s dystopian. The air smells burnt all the time,” said Piya Srinivasan, an academic who moved to the Indian capital for work two years ago. “Instinctively you want to cover your nose.’’

The city’s pollution this time of year is notorious. It’s the equivalent to smoking anywhere from 33 to 50 cigarettes a day. Schools and offices close. Coal plants shutdown. Residents stay indoors. Cricketers vomit during matches. Pets are put on ventilators. The sun is a rumour floating somewhere above the horizon.

And people die.

Air pollution is shortening the life expectancy of Delhi residents by about 12 years according to a September report by the Air Quality Life Index at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. Another study, by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, found one in seven deaths in Delhi in 2023 was linked to polluted air, claiming more lives than high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity related disease.

Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) measures pollutants, including the level of fine particulate matter PM2.5 that can clog lungs, on a scale of 0 (clean) to 500 (maximum pollution).

Since the beginning of November, the index has been hovering between 300 and 400. This is more than 20 times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization.

To put that into context, the worst day for Melbourne in the past five years had a reading of 43. For Jakarta it was 140. Beijing’s was 175.

The effects of prolonged PM2.5 exposure can be devastating. The Head of Monash University’s Climate, Air Quality Research Unit, Professor Yuming Guo, said when PM2.5 particles enter the respiratory system and reach the lungs, they then enter the bloodstream.

“Once PM2.5 enters the blood stream it gets everywhere – from your brain to your feet. Everywhere,” he said.

Long-term exposure increases risks of respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune system issues, bone disease, liver and kidney diseases, mental health issues and even affects the reproductive system.

Expectant mothers are especially vulnerable. “It can lead to low birth weight, preterm birth, even stillbirth,” Professor Guo said.