TOXIC AIR ISN'T JUST A HEALTH CRISIS, IT HITS YOUR WALLET

Last Tuesday morning, my friend called from Gurugram. “Tm taking my daughter to the hospital again,” he said, voice heavy with worry. “Third time this month.” His seven-year-old had been coughing through the night—another respiratory infection triggered by Delhi-NCR’s toxic air.

- SANJIV BAJAJ

AsI checked my phone, the Air Quality Index flashed 503, a number that now feels like an annual headline rather than an emergency. That call stayed with me, notjustasa father, but as someone who worksin financial services. Because when we talk aboutair pollution, we often focus on health. But there’s another crisis unfolding quietly—one that’s eroding Indian households’ financial resilience.

The hidden cost: In September 2025 alone, about 9% of all hospitalisation claims in India were linked to air-pollution-related ailments. Children under ten accounted for 43% of these claims—five times the share of the next largest age group.

Treatment costs for respiratory illnesses rose II°% year-on-year, while cardiac-related hospitalisations increased by 6%. The average claim size stood at around 55,000, a substantial burden for many middle-income families in Delhi, where per-capita incomes hover around 4.5 lakha year. Thisis the hidden cost of breathing ina city that’s turning toxic, Familiesaren’tjust battling illness; they're also battling rising healthcare inflation.