Almost one full month after Diwali, Delhi’s air is literally more toxic than the day after the festival.
That’s not “festive fallout.” That’s systemic murder with extra steps.
But sure, keep blaming “parali” and “crackers, bro.”
The stubble burning peaked and dropped two weeks ago.
The crackers are now landfill.
What’s still burning 24×7?
Construction dust (because 400+ projects can’t pause for two weeks, GDP might cry)
Diesel trucks (because banning BS-3/BS-4 vehicles would make someone’s uncle sad)
Road dust (because no one vacuums or waters roads anymore)
Coal plants in neighboring states running full throttle (because power cuts > children’s lungs)
Garbage burning (because Swachh Bharat was apparently just a photo-op)
AQI 1700 means you’re breathing the equivalent of 85–90 cigarettes a day even if you’ve never touched one.
But schools are open.
Metros are packed.
Offices forcing RTO.
Because apparently Excel sheets are more important than oxygen.
We have a GRAP Stage IV plan that kicks in at AQI >450.
We’ve been above 1000 for days.
What did we get? A press release. A blame game between AAP and BJP. And a promise that odd-even will start “from next week.”
Next week, bro? Half the city will be on ventilators by then.
In any sane country this would be a national emergency:
Immediate 10-day lockdown
All construction halted
Non-essential vehicles banned
Emergency air purifiers distributed
Schools shut till it drops under 200
But nah.
Here, we just update the AQI app and pretend it’s normal that the sky looks like the inside of a crematorium.
I’m tired of hearing “Delhi has always been polluted.”

This is new. This is deliberate. This is criminal.
LOCK the damn city down for two weeks and fix it