Delhiites breathe with difficulty: Dust, poor air quality, pollution to blame
Delhi’s worsening air quality, this season, has made wheezing and coughing familiar sounds. According to Central Pollution Control Board, the average AQI last month was 256, which is the worst in April since 2016. Additionally, April had 29 “poor” air quality days!
Deteriorating air quality has been a cause of grave concern in the Capital. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the average air quality index (AQI) in Delhi last month was 256, which is the worst in April since 2016. Additionally, April saw 29 “poor” air quality days — the highest in the month since 2015 — since the CPCB started maintaining AQI data. The face masks (thanks to the pandemic), the dust, and the pollution are all reminiscent of the post-Diwali haze that Delhiites suffer every year — just not during this season!
“Most years, around this time, I’d catch a cold due to the changing weather, and it would last for about four to six days. But after suffering from Covid-19 around April last year, the cold I caught this year was rather severe and I’m sure that the poor air quality only made it worse,” says Sumit Pratihast, 31, lead vocalist of pop-rock band Desi Roots. He adds: “It took me about a month of antihistamines, steam inhalation and nasal irrigation. On my worst days, I have had to wear a mask even indoors because the air conditioning makes the nasal passage so dry that it starts to hurt again. Being a vocalist, I have had to really struggle with singing with a bad throat and sinus on stage. I remember my voice breaking on a couple of occasions in recent shows. I had to delay a couple of my recording sessions as well. But avoiding being outdoors, using a face mask, saline gargles and steam inhalation were the only things I was counting on.”
Such is the story of almost every other Delhiite who can be heard sneezing or coughing around us. And some who visited the Capital recently, have similar tales to share. Take for instance, Mayank Laleria, a Chinese language associate at a private company, who says, “I came to Delhi, from Dehradun, for my cousin’s wedding reception and the heat along with the pollution has since made it hard for me to enjoy anything, leave apart the celebrations. I just can’t afford to take off the face mask when outdoors, and even indoors it’s hard to breathe without an air purifier. I think now I will feel a relief only when I go back home.”
“This time while visiting Delhi with my friends, I felt a drastic change in the atmosphere,” says Paridhi Baliyan, 24, an associate consultant for data migration. She adds: “Coming from Meerut I could feel Delhi is much more polluted and even hotter. Sudden headaches and dizziness are common whenever I step out of my hotel. It was exactly like the advertisement that shows a pipe placed on the head and the sun draining all your energy! I have now made it a point to only step out with an anti-pollution face mask, an umbrella and a bottle of cool drink. Dilliwale pata nahi kaise rhete hain itne pollution mein!”
Also feeling the dip in air quality is Kumari Priya, a 25-year-old, third-year student of Chinese at Jawaharlal Nehru University. She shares, “Air is so bad this year that I can’t go out without your my mask on, and even that doesn’t help much. I hardly go out, but when I do, I make sure to carry extra masks as they get dirty pretty easily. Thank God that our campus is covered and has plenty of greenery so it’s slightly better to live here. Still, in my hostel room, I’ve kept potted plants, which naturally keep the air clean. It feels like Diwali wala time abhi aa gya hai.”
Author tweets @AngelaPaljor