What pollution in Delhi means for senior citizens

There was a time when Delhi's winter sun signalled a change in the rhythm of the city.

- Barkha Deva

The elderly would be the first to don their woollen and their caps as they went about their morning walks—their group of friends growing in direct correlation with the sun’s trajectory in the sky. Some would be seated on park benches, others in their courtyards or even by the wayside, lost in animated discussions over steaming cups of tea. It was a ritual of community —of warmth, movement, and laughter.

Over the past few years, that familiar scene has practically vanished in the smog. For the elderly, the shared commons —the parks, the pavements, the markets — are now places to avoid. Once free and open spaces now feel unsafe, even hostile. Pollution has “privatised” Delhi’s winter, confining the elderly to their rooms, robbing them of the small, everyday freedoms.

A Lancet Planetary Health study estimates that PM 2.5 pollution was responsible for more than 17 lakh deaths in India in 2022 — up by 38% since 2010. And, for those aged 60 and above, every short-term spike in PM2.5 raises the risk of daily mortality by about 1.5%. The wheezing and raucous coughs, the nebulisers and inhalers, the spiralling medication costs, and for some, emergency hospitalisation, have become a recurring nightmare for many families in the city.