Choking on Apathy

Before Delhi's perennial problem of air pollution descends into its haziest winter phase, policymakers need to ensure proactive regulations; write Arihant Jain & Sayukta Agarwal

- Arihant Jain & Sayukta Agarwal

Delhi, so often regarded as the heart, soul and epicentre of all law in India, has been betrayed by the lawmakers of the land themselves. Once the "Oh so blue" skies are nowhere to be seen, having left behind a dense, thick layer of smoke, dust and particulate matter. The question remains, why do we continue to suffer? In 2025, lakhs of students, including ourselves, will be aiming for a move to Delhi, with hopes of a better career, a better future, but is it really there? Most people that we meet ask us whether we're willing to sacrifice our lungs, heart, and quality of life for money, but we wonder, why should we? Why do I, you, us all even have to do so? Why are the elected representatives silent? Why are we, as a collective, unresponsive to the silent killer that pollution really is? "AQI.com" as on May 2, 2025, showed the AQI as 118, which depicts the average AQI of the capital throughout the year with the number crossing well over multiple hundreds in November. Millionaire tech influencer and entrepreneur, Bryan Johnson, walked right out of the Nikhil Kamath Podcast citing "Unbearable AQI" in Mumbai. According to the Times of India, "During his podcast appearance, Johnson was exposed to an AQI of 130 and PM2.5 levels at 75 µg/m³." If that was his reaction to a fraction of what Delhiites face every day, why are we, the humans of Delhi, silent? Excess PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5 and higher AQI readings directly increase the chances of getting various cancers, heart diseases, reproductive harms and birth-defects. Even then, we continue to joke. "Might as well have a cigarette, am I right?" Wrong. Do we not owe it to ourselves, our families to not be so naive as to joke about us and our family's future? Do we not owe it to our future generations to leave more than what was given to us? Lawmakers of both the Centre and the Union Territory of Delhi must gather their vast resources and utilise it in solving this new-age crisis. Executive decisions such as the "Odd