Delhi wore its annual grey shroud again on Monday morning. The smog rolled in heavy and low, swallowing skylines and patience alike, as the city’s air quality slipped deep into the ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ zones.
At Anand Vihar, the Air Quality Index touched 371, while readings across large parts of Delhi hovered above 300. These levels sting the eyes and scratch the throat before the day begins.
For some, it was a grim first impression. Shane, a foreign tourist who travelled to the city from Agra by bus, said he could feel the air thicken with every passing kilometre.
“It’s pretty bad,” he told ANI. “The closer I got to Delhi, the thicker the smog became. You could definitely tell the difference. At one point, I could barely see the sun anymore.”
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For Delhi residents, this situation is nothing new, but it is turning worse for sure. As per a report of Moneycontrol, Saif, who is a shopkeeper in Lajpat Nagar, said the mornings now burn the eyes before the kettle boils.
“Pollution is rising every day. There’s burning in the eyes and it’s hard to breathe. The government must act - it’s unbearable now,” he said.
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As the haze thickened, Delhi’s civic machinery scrambled for control. Truck-mounted water sprinklers fanned out across the city, dousing roads to tamp down dust. At Kartavya Path, the AQI hovered at 307, still firmly in the ‘very poor’ category.
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The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has enforced stricter curbs under Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which means that the entry of BS-III and below goods vehicles that are not registered in Delhi will be banned. The NDMC has doubled parking fees to discourage non-essential car use, even as visibility continues to drop.
Yet, for those who live and breathe here, the air itself feels like a daily battle. The city’s skyline fades into a dull smear, the sun an orange blur. And once again, Delhi coughs its way through another season of smog.
