Delhi's Air Pollution Declared a "Health Emergency" at UN Climate Summit Concerns Rise as AQI Reaches Alarming Levels

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The daily air quality index (AQI) in Delhi has remained ‘severe’ for six consecutive days, clocking 414 on November 13 and rising to an alarming 494 (severe+) on November 18, posing a serious health risk. Forecasters at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune predicted no respite in the coming days, with the national capital region (NCR) likely to experience ‘severe’ AQI at least until November 21.

Drawing attention to the complexity of Delhi’s toxic smog on the sidelines of COP29, Aarti Khosla, director of Climate Trends, stated that a single source of pollution is not driving the crisis, but rather multiple factors.

“There are many – black carbon, ozone, fumes from fossil burning and farm fires. This calls for multidisciplinary solutions. As temperatures drop in a La Nina year, the wind circulation has also been quite poor, leaving pollutants to hang in the air for a long time," she said, highlighting the severe impacts on overall health.