Dirty Air Threatens India’s Global Power

How New Delhi’s pollution has become a more fundamental crisis.

People walk near India gate amid heavy dust and smog November 7, 2016 in Delhi, India. December 9, 2025, 4:04 PM

On a grey November morning in New Delhi, school administrators issued a familiar set of emergency orders: Playgrounds were closed, outdoor activities were canceled, and physical education classes were moved indoors. The reasoning had nothing to do with rain or cold. The air itself was too hazardous for children to breathe.

The announcements were delivered calmly, procedurally, with a seasonal rhythm. In the capital of the world’s largest democracy, whether children can run, play, or safely inhale now depends on the daily Air Quality Index (AQI). Increasingly, school sch

See Full Page