New Delhi was blanketed by heavy smog on Monday, with the city recording an AQI of 344 — a 'severe' level well above WHO guidance. Hundreds of residents, including parents and activists, staged a rare protest at India Gate before police ordered dispersal. Winters, crop burning and trapped emissions worsen pollution each year, and critics say temporary bans and cloud seeding are not enough; long-term emission cuts are needed to protect public health.
New Delhi Chokes: Severe Smog (AQI 344) Sparks Rare Street Protests
New Delhi was blanketed by heavy smog on Monday, with the city recording an AQI of 344 — a 'severe' level well above WHO guidance. Hundreds of residents, including parents and activists, staged a rare protest at India Gate before police ordered dispersal. Winters, crop burning and trapped emissions worsen pollution each year, and critics say temporary bans and cloud seeding are not enough; long-term emission cuts are needed to protect public health.
04:08 PM, 11/10/2025Environment
Heavy Smog Blankets New Delhi as Residents Demand Action
A thick blanket of smog covered India’s capital on Monday, filling the air with an acrid odor as pollution levels surged and intensified a public health emergency that drove residents into the streets to demand stronger action from authorities.
By Monday morning New Delhi’s air quality index registered 344 — a level widely classified as 'severe' on common AQI scales and far above World Health Organization recommended limits for safe air exposure.
Late Sunday, hundreds of people — including parents and environmental campaigners — gathered at India Gate in an uncommon demonstration to urge officials to act. Many protesters wore masks and held signs; one placard read: 'I miss breathing.'
'I am here just as a citizen who cares and who is worried about the state of situation that we are in with respect to the lack of clean air to breathe,' said Meghna, who gave only her first name.
Police later confiscated banners and placards and told demonstrators to disperse, stating the group did not have permission to hold the protest. Residents have described headaches, sore throats and persistent coughing as public frustration grows at what has become an annual health crisis.
Greater New Delhi and its surrounding region, home to more than 30 million people, routinely rank among the world’s most polluted urban areas. A report earlier this year from Switzerland-based IQAir found that India had six of the 10 most polluted cities globally and identified New Delhi as the most polluted national capital.
Air quality typically deteriorates each winter when farmers burn crop residue in neighboring states and cooler, still conditions trap the smoke. That smoke mixes with vehicle and industrial emissions, and Delhi’s often dry, windless winters can push fine particle levels to many times the WHO guideline for safe air.
Authorities have rolled out short-term measures such as temporary bans on construction, restrictions on diesel generators and attempts at cloud seeding to encourage rainfall. Critics and health experts say these steps provide only temporary relief; they argue that sustained, long-term cuts in emissions from transport, industry and agricultural burning are required to protect public health.
What residents want: clear timelines for pollution control, better enforcement of existing regulations, and policies to reduce crop-burning and vehicle emissions year-round.