Delhi’s haze and policy maze: Why our air emergency is also a governance failure

For much of the year, residents of Delhi breathe air that fails to meet even the most basic global health standards.

- DR.S.KRISHNAN, DIVYA SONI AND MR. VANSH SHARMA

During peak winter months, concentrations of fine particulate matter, PM2.5, often exceed the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended safe limit, placing India's capital among the most polluted cities in the country. While public attention intensifies every winter as smog envelops the city, pollution in Delhi is not confined to a single season. Data from national and international monitoring agencies indicate that poor air quality persists year-round, posing a sustained public health risk rather than a temporary environmental inconvenience.The air quality in New Delhi and its surrounding areas has turned hazardous as a dense layer of smog blanketed the Indian capital. Several parts of Delhi recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 400 and even 450 - a level considered as “severe” under international pollution standards.

Every winter, air pollution in Delhi spikes around this time when cold air traps smoke and fumes from fireworks, stubble burning and heavy traffic. The crisis is aggravated by vehicular and industrial emissions, massive road dust, construction activities and coal and biomass-fired residential heating.

SOURCES OF SMOG IN DELHI