Delhi Smog Linked to 17,188 Deaths

An IHME/GBD analysis found long-term PM2.5 exposure was linked to nearly 15% of deaths in Delhi in 2023—about 17,188 fatalities—prompting calls to treat air pollution as a public-health emergency. Delhi’s Air Quality Index has hovered in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ range this week, with citywide readings in the 300s and many stations breaching 400; hotspots include Wazirpur, Alipur, Bawana and Anand Vihar. Medical experts note PM2.5 is classified as carcinogenic and clinicians report rising respiratory illness, lung nodules and cancer detections among smokers and never-smokers; a leading doctor called the pollution a “silent pandemic” linked to millions of global deaths. Authorities have invoked GRAP and deployed sprinklers, anti-smog devices, construction bans and even cloud-seeding (which reportedly failed), measures critics call short-term fixes and say have included attempts to mask real pollution levels. Political pressure has escalated: the Aam Aadmi Party declared a public-health emergency and accused the BJP of neglect, while Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi urged the Centre and Delhi government to take immediate, non-partisan action.