“I don’t want to be a climate refugee”: dozens of people demonstrated on Sunday to demand action against air pollution in New Delhi, the Indian capital that regularly features on lists of the most polluted cities on the planet.
On the streets of major Indian cities, some demonstrators came with their children, wearing masks and holding up signs emblazoned with slogans, such as one of them declaring “I miss breathing”. “Today, I am here just as a mother” and because “I don’t want to be a climate refugee,” said Namrata Yadav, who came with her son.
Protesters gathered near the iconic India Gate, a war memorial erected by colonial authorities. In this sector, levels of PM 2.5 particles, which are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and can penetrate deep into the lungs or cardiovascular system, reached 200 on Sunday evening, or more than 13 times the maximum daily limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to a study published last year in the medical journal The Lancet, 3.8 million Indians died from air pollution between 2009 and 2019. “Year after year, it’s always the same and there is no solution,” complained Tanvi Kusum, a lawyer who said she came because she was “frustrated”. “We need to put pressure on the government to at least take this issue seriously,” he added.
New Delhi, one of the most polluted capital cities in the world
New Delhi and its sprawling metropolitan area of 30 million people are frequently ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals, with thick smog blanketing the skyline every winter, caused by factories, car traffic and agricultural slash-and-burn. PM2.5 levels sometimes reach up to 60 times the UN’s daily health limit.
Piecemeal government initiatives, such as partial restrictions on fossil fuel transportation or tanker trucks spraying mist to remove airborne particles, have not had a significant impact.
City officials also conducted a failed cloud-seeding experiment last month, spraying chemicals from planes to encourage rain. “Pollution is killing us,” said a young woman who said she was “speaking for Delhi” and declined to give her name. “We are all fed up with policies that do not address this problem comprehensively,” he said.
As the sun set over the smog-covered horizon and the crowd seemed to swell, police put some demonstrators onto buses, confiscating signs and banners. One, half torn, read: “I just want to breathe.”
