Foreigner’s grim take on Delhi air pollution as thick smog chokes city: ‘Could barely see the sun’

Many have taken to social media to share visuals showing the concerning air quality of Delhi and NCR.

A heavy, grey haze covered the Delhi-NCR area. Many people discussed the poor air quality and health risks on social media. A video of a foreigner visiting the capital city drew particular interest.

The foreigner said that once he reached Delhi, he saw everything was engulfed in thick smog. (ANI)

The traveller, named Shane, had journeyed from Agra to Delhi. He said pollution was so thick that he could "barely see the sun."

"It's pretty bad. I came from Agra by bus and the closer I got to Delhi, the thicker the smog was. You could definitely tell the difference. The closer I got to Delhi, it kept getting worse to the point where I could even barely see the sun anymore,” Shane, a foreign national visiting India, told ANI.

What did social media say?

Shane's experience sparked a strong reaction on social media, where users debated the city's pollution crisis.

An individual wrote, “It's a huge shame for all the lawmakers. This problem has persisted for many years, yet no solution has been found. If they don't care about the people here, at least think about our international image. What kind of image are we projecting to the world about Delhi? All the big leaders, officials, and judges live in Delhi—despite that, why can't they find a solution? Where exactly is the hurdle?” Another joked, “Bro landed in Delhi expecting yoga retreats and found a live demo of ‘lungs before and after industrialisation’.”

A third posted, “Apocalypse.” A fourth posted, “This is the sign of the impact of air pollution, it's not just the locals that are impacted.”

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) rose sharply to 366 over the weekend. This was categorised as "very poor." On Monday, the AQI dropped to 316, but the air quality still remained poor.