Don't breathe: India Inc calls pollution a national crisis as Delhi-NCR chokes amid worsening air quality

Delhi pollution.

On the night of November 17, many residents of Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) took to social media to share their ordeal of the worsening air quality in the urban sprawl.

A resident said, "Tonight, Delhi-NCR air smells like cigarette smoke and burning coal. Even our air purifiers can’t keep up. This isn’t just pollution. It’s a slow, suffocating death,"

The air quality has fallen to hazardous levels, with residents waking up to the worst air quality on November 18. The air quality index (AQI) hit an alarming 486. In few neighbourhoods, AQI has risen to over 700.

A national crisis

Aloke Bajpai, the founder of travel technology company Ixigo, said that pollution is not just a Delhi-NCR issue, but a national crisis.

"Pollution is not just a Delhi-NCR crisis, but a national crisis. We need to put this on national agenda priority. Viksit Bharat also needs to be a pollution-free Bharat," he said on X.

Ritesh Malik, the founder of co-working firm Innov8, shared similar sentiments. He urged if tackling the issue of pollution can become the government's priority.

"Horrible state of affairs in Delhi-NCR. Can curbing pollution become a priority for our governments. We are losing 21.8 lakh people annually because of pollution woes in India," he said.

Gurgaon-based tech start-up Pesto Tech's co-founder and joint Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ayush Jaiswal, shared on X that "Delhi pollution will kill more people than Covid-19, over time."

Kapil Chopra, the founder of EazyDiner, a food discovery and payment platform, questioned the authorities. "This is a national shame. Bureaucrats are more to blame than their political masters. Didn't the judges set up a monitoring committee? Why not jail the officials, who are responsible? Something needs to be done," he asked.

"The AQI in Delhi is alarming at 930. Schools have been closed for primary classes," he added.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi has announced that, with the implementation of GRAP-4 (Graded Response Action Plan), starting November 18, physical classes will be suspended for all students, except those in Grades X and XII. In her post on X, she stated that all schools will transition to online classes until further notice, in response to the worsening air quality in the national capital.

The cold temperatures, calm winds and high pollution are trapping dust, emissions, and smoke from illegal farm fires in the atmosphere, creating hazardous smog conditions. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted poor air quality and low wind speeds through the week, with the city’s minimum temperature expected to drop to 14 degrees Celsius on November 18.

An annual wake-up call

"Every year, 30 million people staying in Delhi- NCR face health risk due to poor air quality prevailing during the 'pollution' season. Yes, Delhi has additional season named as pollution season," said Vikash Mishra, the founder and CEO of MoEVing, which provides last-mile delivery services.

According to him, the Delhi government is acting against the basic principles of Delhi EV (electric vehicle) policy. He said, "In the policy, road tax was exempted for EVs. But somehow road tax is back. This is making the registration cost of EV and fitness certificate renewal even costlier. The ecosystem is grappling with high upfront cost of EV as central subsidy is declining for the last one year. Now, even the Delhi State EV policy is not helping the business case for EV."

Mishra hoped that the worsening air quality in Delhi-NCR acts as a wake-up call for policymakers.

"I hope this pollution season acts as a wake-up call for policymakers. They can adjust the policy levers to accelerate the EV adoption in India. Logistics sector use 3-wheel cargo and 4-wheel LCV (light-commercial vehicle) for intra-city movement. We all should aim to achieve 100 per cent EV adoption in this segment at the earlier," he added.

Gaurav Agarwal, the co-founder at 1mg, a healthcare platform, has been questioning his decision of moving to Delhi due to the pollution.

"We moved back to India in December, 2013. Probably the only thing that has made us question this decision, repeatedly, is air pollution. For four months every year, Delhi-NCR witnesses crazy air pollution thanks to a multitude of factors. AQI is consistently in the 300s/400s and sometimes breaks the meter (AQI stops at 999)," he said on X.

"I used to be frustrated about our AQI management but I now believe that it will take time to solve this problem due to its complexity and our state as a society (still a low-income developing nation)."

Impact and awareness

Agarwal also highlighted the impact of air quality on people.

"There is tremendous amount of research, which shows poor air quality is a health hazard. It increases cardiovascular diseases, risk of cognitive diseases and affects overall mortality. By exposing ourselves, I doubt we will build immunity. Mutations happen over generations. Any amount of reduction in exposure helps," he said.

He also pointed out things people can do to reduce and prevent the hazardous effects of air pollution.

"Become aware - there are good AQI monitoring apps available.... Use a purifier — at least in the room you sleep....If AQI is high [for me 200+] I avoid outdoor activities (run etc) and instead use the gym. I cringed this morning seeing many runners braving the 500ish AQI. It's unfortunate that poor air quality affects the most vulnerable amongst us and the solutions I've proposed above are out of reach for them. My sincere hope is that we will find a solution to this problem soon," he said.

Sumeet Kapur, the Founder and CEO of health tech platform Wellcure, also highlighted how different people have different opinions regarding the rising pollution in Delhi-NCR.

"It is a bit surprising to see the different attitudes of people in Delhi-NCR about the current pollution problem. You speak to a lung doctor, they sound as if World War-III going on and everyone will get Asthma and die earlier. You speak to some senior citizens doing morning walk, they say it is nothing, the pollution was always there. Some people are ok with the AQI of 100-150 inside their homes & offices [which is normal] and bringing it further down with Air purifiers," he said.

People are confused, Kapur added.

"Some parents have seen their children getting impacted with breathing problems and some parents want the schools to remain open, as it is difficult to manage kids with online classes from home. So, it is actually not quite clear if we really want to solve the problem or just like other issues, keep blaming the government and farmers for the same..."

He noted that polluted air is like any other unhealthy food or habit like smoking. "You put any kind of toxins in your body. If your immunity is good, the body will handle it well and throw it out. But if the immunity is weak, the body will convert it into a disease."

Delhi is still home

While the air in Delhi is in its worst state, people still love the city and wish for cleaner air.

Shubham Rawal, the CEO and co-founder of stock market trading platform StockPe in his post on X, listed down the condition in Delhi-NCR. He said that visibility is low, people are wearing masks, his friends are having breathing issues, demand for air purifiers is high and travelling is getting increasingly tough. "It feels like we are carrying pollution with us. I’m here working right now, and it’s sad to see the pollution get worse every year," he said.

"Yet, Delhi will always be my home — family, friendships, food, and memories. I just hope one day we will finally have clear skies and pure air to breathe," he added.