“The world is the body, Delhi is its soul,” wrote Mirza Ghalib about his city, Delhi. The famous Urdu poet of the Mughal durbar would not have imagined that the ‘soul’ panted under a gloomy gray sky, every year as winter brought with it a shroud-like mist. Those who have made Delhi their home or have already done so are anguished as the Air Quality Index (AQI) shows how dangerous pollution is killing Delhi residents breath by breath. From writer William Dalrymple of City of Jinns to Delhi girl Richa Chadha to Shikhar Dhawan who grew up playing gully cricket in the city’s bylanes, the lament was everyone’s.

The toxic fog is such that normal life has been disrupted. Schools were closed and people were told to only go out if it was unavoidable. The AQI peaks at 750, while some reports even claim that it has exceeded 1,500.

Many experts, celebrities and residents of Delhi remain concerned about the pollution crisis in the national capital of Delhi, even as they express their exasperation on social media platforms. People want to live a city where they can go out without fear to inhale the most toxic air possible. Delhi’s annual smog stranglehold now has a name: “air-pocalypse.”

WHAT FATE FOR THE CITY OF DJINNS, LAMENT DALRYMPLE

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is one of the temporary residents of Delhi and must be feeling the contrast. The Congress leader is a Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, who sees much cleaner air.

Tharoor went as far as to suggest that the capital be moved out of Delhi.

“Delhi is officially the most polluted city in the world, with levels four times more dangerous and almost five times more serious than the second most polluted city, Dhaka. It is unacceptable that our government has been witnessing this nightmare for years and do nothing about it,” he wrote on X.

“This city is essentially uninhabitable from November to January inclusive and barely livable the rest of the year. Should it even remain the national capital?” he added.

Those who return to Delhi after a while, like a writer William Dalrymple, was going to suffer a brutal shock.

“I have just returned to Delhi and found the city embalmed in an enveloping shroud of pollution. Even at 2 p.m. it was impossible to see 100m across the runway. I have never seen anything such in 40 years of living here What a fate for the City of Jinn – still, at best, the most fascinating of cities, but currently a tragic and suffocating death trap,” he wrote on X.

Kaushik Basu, former chief economic advisor to the Indian government, was looking for a plan and action to reduce pollution.

“For any responsible government in India, the top priority should be the control of pollution in cities like Delhi. Apart from diminishing the quality of life, this type of pollution, if left unchecked, can end India’s growth story,” Basu wrote, linking toxic air not only to health but also to the economy.

Basu suggested that this could not be left to local governments but needed a national plan.

China is an example. Beijing has cleared its toxic air while India watches helplessly as Delhi gasps for the breath.

NIGHTMARE FOR YEARS AND NOTHING DONE

Cricketers and actors who grew up in the city of maharajahs and jinns also expressed shock at the situation.

Cricketers and actors have also taken to their social media to express their concerns over the dangerous air quality in Delhi.

“Delhi, is this your version of fog or are we just living in a giant ashtray now? Everyone, please stay safe and wear a mask! We are calling on the government to take action so we can breathe clean air,” cricketer Shikhar Dhawan wrote on X.

Actor Richa Chadha, who grew up and studied in Delhi, suggested that people should seek change.

“The death sentence called life to Delhi…the city of my childhood, of my school, of my roots. It’s heartbreaking to see the apathy and pure self-hatred. Politicians won’t do anything if we don’t learn to speak for ourselves,” Chadha posted on X.

DELHI RESIDENTS IN AN AIR-POCALYPSE

But visitors and onlookers don’t know half of the pain that residents feel every moment.

“It’s heartbreaking to see these kids doing physical activities when the AQI is over 1000. I don’t even know how this is allowed. Please identify someone who can help ensure that outdoor physical activities in schools be suspended until the AQI becomes safe again.” wrote Delhi resident Rajesh Rajput on X.

Warnings and precautions also came from doctors.

“Air quality in Delhi has reached dangerous levels, with pollution equivalent to smoking 40 cigarettes a day, reducing life expectancy and increasing cancer risks,” wrote Anusmita Mukherjee, a Delhi-based doctor .

People even call smog Delhi’s own aeropocalypse

“South ex #Delhi #Airpocalypse, unfortunately I don’t see any other way out than Delhi,” one person wrote on X.

Although we don’t know when the aerial apocalypse will end, we do know that it must be addressed and in the meantime, the residents and lovers of the City of Jinn will mourn the loss of its soul.