Pollution causing accelerating damage to the Red Fort: Study

The iconic Red Fort is facing gradual and accelerating damage due to Delhi's deteriorating air quality, a recent study has found.

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Black crusts of pollutants are steadily forming on the red sandstone walls of the 17th-century monument, threatening its structural and aesthetic integrity, according to a new Indo-Italian study.

The study, titled "Characterisation of red sandstone and black crust to analyse air pollution impacts on a cultural heritage building: Red Fort, Delhi, India", is the first comprehensive scientific investigation into how urban air pollution is impacting the historic monument built by Emperor Shahjahan between 1639 and 1648.

Developed as part of a collaboration between India's Department of Science and Technology and Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI), the research was conducted by scientists from IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) this year.