Man blames ‘ego’ for Delhi’s worsening air quality as AQI hits ‘severe’ levels: ‘Earth isn’t dying, we are’

In a viral thread titled “How Ego Is Destroying Delhi Through Pollution,” a Reddit user argued that the root of the crisis isn’t just industrial emissions, stubble burning, or vehicle exhaust — it’s ego.

Delhi worsening air quality AQI hits severe levels

Delhi’s air quality worsened as AQI hit 309 overall, crossing 400 at several stations, EWS reported

Delhi’s air continues to suffocate its residents, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) remaining in the ‘very poor’ range on Tuesday. According to the city’s Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS), the overall AQI stood at 309, and at several monitoring stations, it crossed the 400-mark, slipping into the ‘severe’ zone. Health experts have once again urged residents to leave the city if possible until conditions improve.

It is a grim ritual that repeats every winter – Delhi gasping for breath under a thick, toxic haze. But this year, one Reddit post has struck a chord by calling out not just the smog, but the mindset behind it.

In a viral thread titled “How Ego Is Destroying Delhi Through Pollution”, a Reddit user has argued that the root of the crisis is not just industrial emission, stubble burning, or vehicle exhaust — it is ego.

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“Every year like clockwork, we all pretend to be shocked that Delhi turns into a post-apocalyptic gas chamber,” the user wrote. “Farmers don’t want to be told what to do. Politicians don’t want to admit failure or coordinate. Delhiites won’t give up their SUVs or crackers. Everyone wants to be right instead of responsible,” he writes in his post.

The post continues, “We all know the solutions: fewer private vehicles, better public transport, waste management, and sustainable farming practices. But nah — everyone wants to be right instead of responsible. Ego > Oxygen.”

Check out the post:

Screenshot of the Reddit post

The message has clearly resonated. Thousands have engaged with the post, echoing the sentiment that Delhi’s air pollution is not just an environmental or policy issue but a reflection of deep-rooted social and political stubbornness, a “collective refusal to change.”

One commenter pointed out that industrial pollution remains the city’s unspoken culprit: “You forgot to mention all the heavy industrial pollution around Delhi that doesn’t receive much attention. For decades they have been allowed to flout pollution norms.”

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Another offered a sobering reminder: “People need to realize something about pollution and global warming, the Earth isn’t dying, we are. The planet’s been through fire, ice, and extinction before and kept spinning. It’ll shake us off too if it has to.”

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A Mumbaikar chimed in with confusion, wondering why Delhi fares worse despite its superior infrastructure: “One thing about Delhi that I don’t understand is that you’ll have better metro and public transport… and still have worse AQI. Mumbai is congested, industries pollute openly, and construction never stops, yet our average AQI is 150. How is that possible?”

Meanwhile, a video shared by startup founder Kapil Dhama has gone viral for showing just how quickly Delhi’s pollution seeps indoors. In the clip, Dhama’s air purifier initially displays an AQI of 97, within the ‘satisfactory’ range. But as soon as he opens his main door, the numbers shoot up, crossing 177, then skyrocketing past 500, levels categorized as ‘severe plus’.

The AQI scale categorises air quality as good (0–50), satisfactory (51–100), moderately polluted (101–200), poor (201–300), very poor (301–400), and severe (401–500). Higher AQI readings indicate increasingly unhealthy air.