New Delhi’s air pollution leaves residents gasping for breath
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/india-new-delhi-air-pollution-rcna56535
Author: Gafira Qadir
As Diwali fireworks pierced the air and lit up the skies of India’s capital region last month, 4-year-old Abhinandan was struggling to breathe. Air quality is generally poor in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, but it is often made worse by the annual celebrations of Diwali, one of India’s most important Hindu festivals. As people burst more and more firecrackers, Abhinandan began vomiting and coughing up mucus. “His health stad to get worse after the October rains as farmers turned to burning stubble, but it went out of control on Diwali night,” his father, journalist Abhishek Anand, said. Anand said his son’s respiratory issues, which he developed when he was a year old, resurfaced this year after vanishing during the coronavirus pandemic, when lockdowns curbed India’s economic activity and the resulting pollution. “Garima Sudhan, a student at Delhi University, woke up with a sore throat and anxiety. It was difficult to breathe after Diwali, even indoors,” she said. “I believe with such a high level of pollution in the city, it is becoming hard to stay mentally calm. I’m finding it hard to sleep and the restlessness has increased.”