“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‑off survival mode turns into our normal life. Sometimes I honestly don’t know what’s more dangerous—the pollution outside or the way our brains quietly adjust and start calling this level of air “normal.”

Why North Indian cities Suffer More

People keep saying it’s all “geographical and meteorological factors,” but our own habits make everything worse. Crop-residue burning, industrial smoke, endless vehicles, and high population density all pile up on top of each other. A mostly rural district like Sri Ganganagar gets hit when stubble burning after harvest and other biomass burning fill the air. An urban giant like Delhi, on the other hand, chokes under poorly monitored industries and lakhs of vehicles crawling through traffic every day. 

The sad part is none of this is new. Back in 2013–14, our school books already talked about how the Taj Mahal was turning yellow because of pollution and how the Yamuna was getting dirtier every year. We studied all of that as “environment chapter” theory, but more than a decade later, it feels like we still haven’t learned anything in real life.

How and what can be done 

Dust from construction is one of the biggest reasons our air feels heavy and dirty. Simple things like using water sprinklers at construction sites or even around our own homes can stop a lot of that dust from flying into the air. For vehicle emissions, there’s no magical fix—we actually have to use more public transport, shared cabs, and carpools instead of taking out a separate vehicle for every tiny trip.

Most importantly, this issue has to move from memes to real conversations. We need to talk about air pollution with friends, family, and neighbors and keep reminding our local leaders that clean air is not a luxury or an “environmentalist topic.” The more citizens show up, ask questions, and put pressure on officials, the harder it becomes for them to treat AQI like just another seasonal headline.

“Maybe the real emergency is that we only panic for a few weeks and then move on.”

 If you have any advice or suggestions, let me know in the comments below! 

Peace out!