The toxic haze blanketing Delhi-NCR is again taking a severe toll on public health. According to a survey by the citizen platform LocalCircles, three out of four households in the region report at least one member suffering from flu- or viral-like symptoms. Over 15,000 residents from Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad responded, while hospitals are witnessing a sharp rise in cases of throat irritation, wheezing, chest tightness, and worsening of chronic respiratory disease.
The newly released State of Global Air 2025 report warns that India recorded over two million deaths in 2023 linked to toxic air. With PM2.5 concentrations in South Asia among the highest worldwide, experts describe it as a deepening environmental and human crisis. India’s pollution stems from multiple sources — residential solid-fuel burning contributes about 30 percent of ambient PM2.5, while vehicles, coal-fired power plants, industrial emissions, and agricultural residue burning add to the load. In dense cities such as Delhi, traffic congestion and construction dust magnify exposure.
“Delhi represents the sharp edge of India’s air-pollution emergency,” said Dr. Rakesh K. Chawla, HOD, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sleep and Interventional Pulmonology, Jaipur Golden Hospital, Rohini, Delhi, and Senior Consultant, Saroj Hospital. “Each winter, particulate-matter levels soar to nearly ten times the WHO safe limit. After Diwali and crop-residue burning, the city sits under a lid of stagnant cold air that traps toxins. This isn’t just a seasonal inconvenience; it’s a continuous assault on lungs that weakens immunity, worsens asthma, and accelerates chronic lung disease. Clean air must be treated as a basic right, not a luxury dependent on weather or wind.”
He added that short-term interventions have failed to deliver real relief. “From odd-even traffic schemes to cloud-seeding experiments, these are reactive, symbolic measures. What Delhi needs is sustained enforcement of emission norms, investment in electric public transport, and strict controls on construction and waste burning. Without systemic change, every winter will replay the same public-health disaster.”
Air pollution now drains an estimated 9.5 percent of India’s GDP through healthcare and productivity losses. The medical community links this burden directly to the rising prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)—a progressive condition that has doubled from 28 million cases in 1990 to 55 million by 2016.
“Even in already polluted environments, smoking multiplies the risk of COPD,” said Dr. Aditya K. Chawla, Consultant, Jaipur Golden Hospital and Saroj Hospital. “No drug can restore lung function once it is lost. The only effective defence is prevention—quit smoking, limit outdoor exposure during high-pollution days, and use clean fuels at home. Public awareness, early screening, and long-term policy enforcement are the pillars of respiratory protection.”
As Delhi’s air again slips into the “severe” zone, doctors warn that without coordinated government and citizen action, the capital’s annual winter smog will continue to erode both health and economic productivity, turning the right to breathe clean air into an unrealised promise.
