Delhi’s air pollution is no longer a temporary crisis. It has become a regular and predictable condition. What should have triggered sustained alarm has instead settled into what The Statesman aptly described as “choking normality”, where citizens adjust their lives while authorities attempt to manage the problem without much success. Quietly, the poisoned air has come to be accepted as part of urban existence. This article explains, in simple terms, what this pollution is, why it is so harmful, and why there is now no alternative but to act decisively and root it out before it irreversibly damages a city of beauty, heritage, and architectural vistas.

Air pollution in Delhi is not a single invisible enemy. It is a complex mixture of microscopic particles and harmful gases produced largely by human activity. The most dangerous components are fine Particulate Matter (PM) known as PM10 and PM2.5. PM10 particles are small enough to enter the nose and throat, while PM2.5 particles are even smaller, allowing them to penetrate deep into the lungs and pass into the bloodstream. These particles are produced by the emissions from automobiles, power plants, biomass burning, and forest fires. These particles are accompanied by harmful gases released mainly from vehicles, coal-based power generation, and incomplete combustion, including nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ground-level ozone formed through chemical reactions under sunlight.

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During winter, meteorology worsens the situation. As the surface cools rapidly, cold air near the ground becomes trapped beneath a layer of warmer air above, preventing vertical convection and mixing. Pollutants emitted day after day remain confined close to the surface, accumulating into dense smog ~ a combination of smoke and fog. The smoke arises primarily from the burning of coal, biomass, plastics, and other polluting fuels. With the air remaining steady and........

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