Indoor air in Delhi homes as toxic as city smog, finds joint India–US study

Children, women most affected by fungal-laden indoor air, study shows

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NEW DELHI: As Delhi braces for winters and likely another spell of the late fall smog, a study has found that the air inside city homes are filled with fungal spores 12 times higher than the WHO safety limit, causing skin allergies, respiratory issues as well as anxiety among residents.

‘The study by Delhi University’s Satyawati College, Jamia Millia Islamia and US's South Dakota State University, has also revealed that the bacterial levels were recorded to be 10 fold higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) safety limits.

Long term exposure to high fungal and bacterial concentrations make indoor air in several parts of Delhi almost as harmful as the smog outside, noted the study published in Frontiers in Public Health, 2025.