“Why India’s AQI Never Really Improves (Even When Headlines Say It Does)”
Note: Written in November 2025, when Delhi’s AQI was swinging between ‘very poor’ and ‘severe.’ Every winter, my eyes start itching, and my throat burns, and that’s my signal to open the weather or AQI app. The numbers on the screen basically say, “Tu toh gya bete.” We turn everything into a meme, even when the situation is genuinely scary, but this year feels worse than usual in Delhi–NCR. I’ve been falling sick again and again, my allergies have risen from the grave, and I’ve watched the AQI jump from “bad but manageable” to almost 500. And still, we go shopping, to college, and to the office, like breathing toxic air is just another part of adulting. When "severe" becomes routine I think we’ve developed a habit of ignoring everything. Headache? Pop a tablet. Burning throat? Gargle with warm water and move on. Each symptom gets a quick fix, and then we rush back to our to‑do list like nothing happened. One day we wear a mask, the next day we “forget,” and slowly this on‑and...