New Delhi - Post Report Question and Answers
What is the air quality like at post (good/moderate/bad)? Are there seasonal air quality issues? Does the air quality have an impact on health?
Poor. Impacts health. October to January is very poor to awful and air cleaners run constantly. March has good air quality and isn’t too hot. - Apr 2024
This is EASILY the worst part of living in New Delhi. The air is practically unbreathable in the winter months. We wore masks from November through February, but the air quality is still pretty bad most of the time. There were many days where going outside would give me a headache almost instantly. - Jan 2022
While we were in Delhi (through 2017), it topped the UN's World Health Organization rating as "the most polluted city on earth" for air pollution. Beijing, for comparison's sake, wasn't even on the top 20 list. 13 of the most polluted cities are in India. The air pollution is so bad it's hard to describe. And it lasts from October to March (in the 'hazardous' zone), improving to just 'Unhealthy' during the other months. I could count on one hand the number of days that the air quality index was rated as "good" in any given year. On the worst days, we couldn't see the neighbor's house across the street through the grey, acidic haze. The smell (sort of like burning graphite) gets into everything. The Embassy provides 4-5 industrial sized air filters for all residences, but they help marginally. They can bring the air quality from hazardous to moderate, but they don't get rid of the smell. And on really bad days, they can't keep up with the pollution so levels remain dangerous even indoors. If you like being outdoors, running, tennis, hiking, biking, camping, canoeing - anything like that...forget it! I kept my sanity by hitting the gym like a hamster every day. - Sep 2020
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is bad all year round. But most of us adjust our expectations so that AQI under 200 ain’t so bad! The really bad days of 200-400 AQI usually only occur between November-January. I have asthma and nasal allergies, but as long as I didn’t exercise outside when the AQI was over 200, I didn’t experience any overt health effects. It is dreary to see hazy skies most days, and then remind yourself that it’s not cloudy, it’s smoggy. - Jul 2020
The air quality seems to be getting better but is still worse than you can imagine. It causes difficulties for a high percentage of personnel. - Jul 2019
You better like wearing a surgical mask for five months. - Dec 2017
The worst air we have ever experienced! Last year pollution level was over 1,400 PM2.5 the day after Diwali, and stayed at levels over 500 for at least 2 weeks. For comparison: New York PM2.5 is usually around 30. Winter time is the worst time for pollution as people burn anything to warm themselves (tires, leaves, garbage). In addition, farmers are burning crops in surrounding areas of Delhi. We are restricted in outdoor activities (walking, gardening, jogging, tennis, soccer, baseball....) during those months, and then again during the dengue season. Therefore gaining weight is a "popular activity". - Oct 2017
Bad Bad Bad. Horrendous in the winter. On the 0-500 2.5pm pollution scale, Delhi often capped out at 500 (300 and above is considered hazardous). Winter is very grey and smoggy and yucky for pollution. Summer is a bit better. Many people wear masks. People with asthma have a rough time. - Mar 2017
I cannot overstate how bad the air quality is. It is horrendous. Please check the daily AQI readings from the embassy- Los Angeles on a bad day is around 60, and Delhi is routinely 200+, and in the 400-500+ range in the winter. Everything outside is covered in black soot. Many people get sick. We all wore masks and ran air purifiers in every room. I sealed off windows with tape. It is BAD. - Feb 2017
Hazardous. I knew Delhi was polluted before coming here, but WOW. Granted, we've just been through the worst week in years, but it's ridiculous. AQI levels ranging between 500 and 1500 all week. That's not even on most charts. There are things I wouldn't take back, but had I known what it was like we likely would not have come here. It's seasonal (the really bad stuff), but even year round the air is usually somewhere between 100 and 200 AQI, which is very unhealthy. We often wear masks when we're outside. Activities and sports are cancelled with regularity. It's gross. - Nov 2016
The World Health Organization has listed New Delhi as having the worst air quality in the world. It is even bad in the best of times, and it becomes dangerous/hazardous from October to February. Check the Embassy's air quality monitorfor the latest readings. - Jun 2016
Air quality is dangerous. The Embassy has recently started an air quality monitoring program and during several months of the year, the air quality was hazardous or worse. Recently the air pollution level has surpassed Beijing, which resulted in lots of finger pointing in India. Check the Embassy's home page for a link to the latest air quality data, and hold your breath... - Sep 2014
This is a downside of Delhi. The air quality is not good, and is expected to get worse during winter. But it's not to a point where we are seeing health problems. - Sep 2014
Hot in summer so though it's cleaner in summer, it's not nice to be outside. In the winter it's very unhealthy and smells just awful, all the time. If you have asthma or other breathing issues, think long and hard before committing to New Delhi. I have this sort of low grade throat clearing going on all the time in New Delhi. - Aug 2013
Very unhealthy, especially for young children, during winter when dung, garbage, and everything else is burnt for warmth, and smog traps it within Delhi. You won't see the blue sky for a couple of months. The open garbage dumps and stagnant sewage doesn't help. - May 2013
TERRIBLE in the winter months and in the hot dry season, for different reasons. In the winter locals burn ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to stay warm, for there is a significant population of homeless people who live on the sidewalks in the city. In the hot, dry, summer months, before the Monsoon, the dust from the Thar desert sits over the city permeating everything. Items left outdoors in Delhi wither quickly. - Oct 2012
Lots of pollution, smog in winter because they burn whatever they can find. Lots of garbage is piled up on the streets. People use the side of the road as a bathroom. - Sep 2012
Terrible during the winter seasons - though it is improving annually. Delhi is close to a desert so assume to breath it all in! - Aug 2011
the worst in the world - Aug 2011
Poor - Aug 2011
The air quality is poor most of the year, and downright foul during the cold months - Jan 2011
Very unhealthy, in the winter the prized fuel is cow dung so you literally breathe "shit".Asthma and skin disorders are on the rise. - Sep 2010
Very bad. Worse than Cairo. - Aug 2010
Very unhealthy--lots of pollution and smog. - Aug 2010
Very unhealthy. I have never seen pollution like it. Houses get very dirty with a black dust. In winter the locals burn wood, so the air is dense, and people get upper respiratory infection very often. - Aug 2010
