As a thick veil of toxic smog envelops India’s capital, New Delhi, life for its 30 million residents grows increasingly perilous. Among them, Gola Noor and her husband Shahbaz struggle to survive, pushing through their daily routine as waste pickers under the choking haze. Each morning at 6 a.m., they venture into the city’s affluent neighborhoods to collect recyclable materials. Shahbaz, coughing and gasping for air, pauses frequently, lamenting the state of the air that “tastes bitter” and causes incessant coughing. “Death is in the air,” he says.
The couple, both in their 40s, have no choice but to endure. Noor, who spent the previous night in the hospital for eye irritation caused by the smog, shrugs off her health issues. For her, the fear of hunger outweighs the fear of suffocation. With pollution levels skyrocketing over the past three weeks, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in New Delhi has reached alarming levels, once exceeding 1,700, over 17 times the acceptable limit. The hazardous smog contains PM2.5 particles, small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, causing severe health conditions such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
The impact on the city is stark. Schools are shut, visibility has dropped to as low as 50 meters, and authorities have labeled the situation a “medical emergency.” Yet, for many residents, these winters have become a grim routine. Families like Noor and Shahbaz’s are disproportionately affected, unable to afford air purifiers or healthcare. Noor recalls how her teenage daughter, Rukhsana, fell gravely ill two winters ago, diagnosed with tuberculosis after a prolonged, mysterious illness. The treatment pushed the family into debt, and Rukhsana’s health remains precarious, deteriorating each winter.
The sources of this pollution are multifaceted, including vehicular emissions, industrial fumes, coal burning, and crop stubble burning in neighboring states. While pollution claims over 2.18 million lives annually in India, research highlights that poorer households bear the brunt of the crisis. They live in areas with higher exposure levels and lack resources to mitigate the health risks.
Experts argue that government measures like sprinkling water on roads and restricting vehicle entry are temporary fixes that fail to address the root causes. Without systemic changes, New Delhi’s toxic winters will continue to amplify existing inequalities, leaving the city’s most vulnerable to suffocate in the pollution caused by others.
