Hold your breath

Air quality is getting worse and worse it's not just a Delhi problem any more - and

- SEEMA GOSWAMI

There was a time when I used to fly to Mumbai (while Delhi was engulfed in thick winter fog) just to see blue skies and breathe some fresh, unpolluted air. Those days are long gone, alas.

This winter, when I travelled to Mumbai, it was to the same grey skies that prevailed over Delhi. Thanks to a largely unregulated construction boom, a miasma of dust and pollutants hung over the Maximum City, making it look like a dystopian hell. Nearly everyone I met had a hacking cough; doctors reported an influx of patients with pulmonary problems. A look at my airpollution app proved what I had suspected: pollution levels in Mumbai were worse than those in Delhi.

But you know what was worse than the pollution? It was the apathy.