Alright, so I’m gonna tell you about a time I visited a place with super bad air pollution. It was Delhi, India. I went there in November last year for a cousin’s wedding. I’d heard about the pollution issues before, but experiencing it firsthand was something else.
When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was this thick grayish haze over the city. It was like the sky was covered in a dirty blanket. My eyes started itching immediately, and I could actually smell the air – it had this smoky, burnt smell. I was thinking, “How do people live like this every day?”
The air was bad because of a combination of factors. It was crop-burning season in nearby states where farmers burn leftover straw to clear fields. On top of that, Delhi’s traffic is chaotic – cars, trucks and motorcycles spewing exhaust nonstop. There was construction dust everywhere from new buildings going up.
All of it combined into this toxic soup. My cousin told me the Air Quality Index (AQI) was over 400 that week, which is considered “hazardous”.
What shocked me the most was how it affected daily life. People wore masks like they were part of their outfit, and schools were closed for days. Even during the wedding festivities, there were air purifiers humming in every corner of the venue. I developed a cough after just two days, and I couldn’t wait to get back to my hometown’s fresh air.
Honestly, the trip left me feeling sad and uneasy. Delhi is such a vibrant and historic city, but the pollution made it hard to enjoy anything. I felt bad for the locals, especially the kids and elderly who had no choice but to breathe that air.
It made me realize how much we take clean air for granted. After that trip, I started paying more attention to environmental issues and even joined a local tree planting initiative. It’s scary how something you can’t even see – like polluted air – can have such a big impact on your life.
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