Is pollution really hazardous in Delhi or it’s inflated by media?

For instance, only recently, following the Diwali week, Kolkata took over New Delhi, for selected hours, to become India’s most polluted city. But that got very fewer media attention!

Not just Kolkata. The likes of Bengaluru, Allahabad (Pragyaraj) and Mumbai, too, struggle with high air pollution. In fact, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in these big cities, at times, exceeds New Delhi’s mark.

For instance, just the very latest AQI across India suggests Bangalore is trading worse that New Delhi. And yet, the national media never really talks about the critical air pollution level in Bangalore and other metro cities.

(Courtesy: livemint.com)

So, in a way, YES, media does hype New Delhi’s air pollution. “HYPE” is a sense that they over-focus on that city, completely overlooking the severe conditions of other places in the country. There are many cities in India that essentially require just as much attention as New Delhi. Because the lack of this attention is misleading people.

For instance, Delhiites at least talk about poor air in their city. But those in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata, they don’t even care about it. Because they don’t even know they are breathing poisonous air. Because the mainstream media doesn’t inform them about this with equal rigor as it picks New Delhi’s choking environment.

I have a friend who said he will never move to New Delhi because of poor air quality. And guess what, he was shifting to Bangalore in a week. He didn’t even know Bangalore is just as bad!

Remember, India homes 13 of the world’s 20 most polluted city. Each of these cities requires the same attention.

Now coming to your “exact” question:

Air quality level in New Delhi is NOT hazardous. It’s actually BEYOND THAT.

(Courtesy: asianage.com)

Here’s the globally accepted AQI parameter/scale to judge the quality of the air:

• AQI: Good (0 - 50)

• AQI: Moderate (51 - 100)

• AQI: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101 - 150)

• AQI: Unhealthy (151 - 200)

• AQI: Very Unhealthy (201 - 300)

• AQI: Hazardous (301 - 500)

Last year, in November 2017, Delhi’s air quality cross the 500 AQI mark. In October 2016, that mark reached 999 AQI.

Here’s a picture from Indiatimes, showing AQI across India right after Diwali in 2016:

SEE the level in New Delhi. And also check that of Varanasi and Ahmedabad.

So, a handful of places in our country, including Delhi, is continuously toying with beyond hazardous levels. Imagine the hazardous scenario—the worst possible situation. Some of us are living in worse than the worst scenario.

Indeed, these are selected dates and examples. But even on the regular days, the AQI level across India always remain in the 101-150 AQI, which is “unhealthy for sensitive groups”. And this is something very bad, given a lot of people in our country suffers from respiratory disease.

(Courtesy: smartairfilters.com)

About 20 million people in India have Asthma. In fact, more asthma deaths in the world happen in India.

7 percent of deaths in India happens due to respiratory diseases. Comparably, this is more than deaths happening from road accidents, infection, and strokes.

Another report states: in Delhi, there has been a 66 percent increase in respiratory deaths.

Now, indeed, you can question the credibility of AQI and PM levels. You can ploy your conspiracy theory to claim that media is inflating the severity of the whole topic. (Like Trump did in the Paris climate deal.)

BUT these number of deaths aren’t perception. They aren’t just the opinions. The number of deaths is a hard fact. And this hard fact is a result of poor air quality that we are all exposed to day and night every day.

A large number of deaths is happening in the country because of air pollution. It’s a cold hard fact. Yes, for the sake of TRP, news channels can sensationalize the issue. But there’s a difference between sensationalization and inflation.

Things are worse than the worst in top cities. Mid-tier cities in India are striding towards the same fate. There’s no stopping to the consistent increase in the AQI. A lot of deaths are ALREADY happening because of poor air quality. With the way things are going, imagine what will happen in 2020 and 2022. So, if you’re living in some small town of, say, Gauhati—you aren’t safe either. It will catch up to you in a couple of years.

In India, we are marching, unknowingly, to a catastrophe. Majority of us, on many levels, are struggling with some kind of respiratory disease. If things don’t change now, there’ll be no looking back for us then.

I am not religious. But remember, there might not be big earthquakes and Tsunamis on The Last Judgement or Yawmal-Qiyāmah as we religiously believe. We simply might fail to breathe and die.