4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Nov 18, 2024 07:35 PM IST
Aarti Khosla, director at Climate Trends, pointed out how Delhi's AQI on Monday is close to 450 and on an average, and touched 1000 ug/m3 in many parts of the city.(Photo: Reuters)
Delhi has seen among the most polluted episodes observed in November in recent years, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) nearing 500 as of 6 pm on Monday. From historians to economists, several people shared their concerns over the deteriorating air quality.
Scottish Historian William Dalrymple wrote on X: “Just arrived back in Delhi to find the city embalmed in an all-enveloping burial shroud of pollution. Even at 2 PM, it is impossible to see 100 m across the runway. I’ve never seen anything like this in forty years of living here. What a fate for the City of Djinns- still, at its best the most fascinating of cities, but currently a tragic, choking death-trap.”
He also shared a graphic as per which one was “smoking 40 cigarettes per day” just by walking outdoors in the capital.
Just arrived back in Delhi to find the city embalmed in an all-enveloping burial shroud of pollution. Even at 2pm impossible to see 100m across the runway.
I’ve never seen anything like this in forty years of living here. What a fate for the City of Djinns- still, at its best the… pic.twitter.com/F0l8SRJWTw
John Reed, South Asia Bureau Chief of Financial Times, posted on X on Sunday: “The air in Delhi today is the worst I remember it in two years here. You can’t spend more than a few minutes outdoors without gasping and feeling ill. Indoors is not much better, even with air purifiers.”
Kaushik Basu, professor of Economics at Cornell University and former chief economist at the World Bank, said that for any responsible government in India, the top priority should be pollution control in cities like Delhi. “In addition to diminishing the quality of life, this kind of pollution, left unchecked, can bring India’s growth story to an end,” he wrote in a post on X.
For any responsible government in India, the top priority should be pollution control in cities like Delhi. In addition to diminishing the quality of life, this kind of pollution, left unchecked, can bring India’s growth story to an end.
Meanwhile, Alban Alvarez, bureau chief at FRANCE24, said on X: “Air pollution is skyrocketing in #Delhi. The level of particulate matter PM 2.5 is 45 times above the WHO recommendations, according to the US Embassy.”
In a recent interview with The Indian Express, Ganbold Dambajav, ambassador of Mongolia, too, expressed concerns over pollution.
“I’m really concerned about my family and the embassy staff (due to pollution). I think the pollution is partly due to the actions of humans. I believe we have to take care of ourselves. Post Diwali, I tell all my staff to wear masks when they go out. Inside, I ask them to put an air purifier and a dehumidifier. November, December, and January are the worst,” he had said.
For Dambajav, however, it is not a new phenomenon. “Back home (in Mongolia) we have very bad pollution during the winter… For me, pollution is not such a new thing… but of course, I have to look out for my family. I think pollution is present everywhere in the world.”
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ... Read More
