As air quality deteriorates, 3 in 10 Delhi NCR families already have someone experiencing health issues due to it; Majority to rely on basic immunity foods/drinks to cope with it

Oct 19, 2024, New Delhi: With the onset of winter and early morning and late-night fog, air pollution levels are rising in the national capital region. Anand Vihar in Delhi reported PM 2.5 of 326 and PM 10 levels of 654 on Saturday.

With air quality fast deteriorating, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) activated Stage-I of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan from October 15th. Stage I of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) includes measures to dust control, waste management, and vehicle restrictions, with mist-spraying drones to monitor and tackle pollution hotspots.

Despite CAQM directives and the Supreme Court asking Punjab and Haryana government to take more severe actions to curb stubble burning, the pollution level in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, etc., has recorded air pollution in the 'poor' category since GRAP stage 1 was implemented. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi and NCR cities is now hovering between very unhealthy and hazardous levels.

With conversations amongst citizens of Delhi and NCR regarding pollution and air quality increasing on LocalCircles, the platform attempted to find out what Delhi NCR families are currently experiencing and how do they plan to cope with the rising pollution levels this year. The survey received over 21,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. 61% respondents were men while 39% respondents were women.

36% Delhi NCR families have one or more members with sore throat, cough and breathing difficulty/asthma due to rising levels of pollution; 27% have someone having running nose/congestion

As air pollution is known to impact the health of many people, particularly those with respiratory problems, with AQI levels now between 250-300, the survey first asked, “What are all the ailments you or members of your family in Delhi NCR are now experiencing due to the air pollution?” Some among the 10,555 respondents indicated that more than one problem thus 36% stated “sore throat and / or cough”; 36% stated “breathing difficulty/ asthma”; 27% stated “runny nose and/ or congestion”; 9% stated “burning eyes”; however, 27% of respondents stated that they “have no issues at all due to pollution”. To sum up, 36% Delhi NCR families have one or more members with sore throat, cough and breathing difficulty/asthma due to rising levels of pollution; 27% have someone having running nose/congestion.

Only 18% citizens of Delhi NCR will use air purifiers to reduce impact of pollution; a large majority will just live with it, increase intake of immunity foods and drinks; 22% planning to travel for some part of the next one month

The survey next asked residents of Delhi NCR, “With Delhi NCR AQI now in the 200-300 range and expected to go up by 3 times in the next three weeks, what best describes what you and your family are doing to get better prepared to handle this?” The question received 11,117 responses from Delhi NCR residents with 22% indicating that they are “planning to travel out for some or most of this period”; 5% stated that plan to “stay indoors, increase intake of immunity foods/drinks and bear it”; 18% stated that they plan to “stay indoors, increase intake on immunity foods/ drinks, use air purifiers”; 23% stated that they plan to “carry on routine activity and wear mask when outdoors” 18% stated that they plan to “carry on routine activity and wear mask when outdoors, increase intake of immunity foods/ drinks” and 14% stated that they “will not do any of the above and just live with it”. To sum up, only 18% citizens of Delhi NCR will use air purifiers to reduce impact of pollution; a large majority will just live with it, increase intake of immunity foods and drinks; 22% are planning to travel for some part of the next one month. It is also likely that many have planned travels for Diwali which also allows them to get away from peak pollution days in Delhi NCR when AQI has touched 1000 in the past.

In summary, the air pollution levels are now in the very unhealthy to hazardous range and already residents of Delhi NCR are feeling the impact. Already 36% of Delhi NCR families surveyed have one or more members with sore throat, cough and breathing difficulty/asthma due to rising levels of pollution; 27% have someone having running nose/congestion. However, only 18% citizens of Delhi NCR residents surveyed plan to use air purifiers to reduce impact of pollution; a large majority will just live with it, increase intake of immunity foods and drinks. Among those with the option, 22% of respondents are planning to travel for some part of the next one month to escape the impact of high air pollution with many likely to travel during the Diwali weekend.

The big question in everyone’s mind in Delhi NCR is, when will this end. Year after year for the last decade, AQI levels in the region have been touching 500-1000 between Oct 15th – Dec 1st causing devastating long-term impact to health of the residents and no solutions have been implemented to address this at a structural, policy and enforcement level. Can this year be better? We will know soon.

Survey Demographics

The survey received over 21,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. 61% respondents were men while 39% respondents were women. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform, and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.