From expats to residents, Delhi's air pollution is driving people out

Embassies have stepped up efforts to deal with the situation; WFH option has residents temporarily relocating to their hometowns

New Delhi’s air pollution levels are proving to be a tipping point for many of its residents and the expats stationed here. Several of them are choosing to relocate or leave the city during the months when the air quality is particularly bad.

 

Caroline Gabriel, an Australian citizen employed in Delhi, says she has gone back to her home country because her health was getting affected. “I plan to return next month when the AQI (air quality index) levels improve,” she adds via a text message.

 

Embassies, meanwhile, are acting on the situation. 

 

“We have formed an Air Quality Council, an internal group, which serves to advise the ambassador and embassy management on measures we can take to mitigate the effects of air pollution and ensure the air is safe to breathe,” says Christopher Elms, spokesperson of the US embassy in New Delhi. 

 

“We have also installed air quality monitors in each of our vehicles,” he says, adding that the prospect of working from home is also open during extremely poor conditions. 

 

A British High Commission spokesperson says that with air purifiers in place, they try to maintain the indoor AQI levels between 0 and 50 parts per million. “We follow local guidance under the Delhi government’s Graded Response Action Plan,” says the spokesperson.

 

Elms adds that some of the US embassy personnel plan their vacations around the time of peak pollution in New Delhi. “Many take long weeks to visit other beautiful areas in India with better air quality like Goa, Kerala, or the hill stations.”

 

For some, these getaway trips are a year-long affair.

 

Samuel Gebre, an American expat living in Delhi, says he and his family frequently plan out-of-town trips to get some fresh air. "At home, we’ve had to keep the air filters running non-stop, and have restricted activities to indoors. With kids, it's tough, " he says, adding that some of his friends who have health issues have decided to leave the country for a while.

 

Over at the Embassy of Switzerland, employees are being reimbursed the cosṭ of protective masks. Besides that, “we use Swiss technology such as IQAir systems to measure air quality,” says an official from the embassy.

 

Not just expats, Delhi residents, too, are looking for options to avoid being in the city during poor AQI months.

 

On November 18, when the AQI touched 496, a severe-plus category, a New Delhi-based chartered accountant named Kanan Bahl took to X to say that he had started talking to his family about reconsidering living in the national capital. 

 

In another post, a senior resident doctor of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said: “If you can, escape Delhi! You will thank me later, in a few years.”

 

Some residents have already taken this step to relocate, either temporarily or permanently, some to their native places and others to clean-air destinations like Goa and Himachal Pradesh.

 

““I have shifted to a small village in Goa and plan to stay here for a few months. I have also tried to stay at a village near Coonoor - where the AQI was 2. It’s not fair to be pushed out of one’s home like this!,” says Jyoti Pande Lavakare, author of the book Breathing Here is Injurious to Your Health and cofounder of Care for Air NGO. Though Lavakare managed to migrate, not everybody in her family had this choice. ““My daughter works in Gurugram and my father cannot travel due to his age and infirmity. His bedroom is a bubble of purified air in which he is trapped the whole winter,” she says, adding that this does leave one with a sense of guilt.

 

Besides, it is not easy. “There are extra expenses. You have to look for houses, negotiate rents, and adapt to less developed infrastructure - bad roads, and Wi-Fi, less developed medical facilities - fewer friends and no family around,” Lavakare says. 

 

To skip this hustle, Saurabh Bhasin, a Gurugram-based lawyer, moved bag and baggage with his family to Goa in June this year. “Delhi’s pollution was one of the primary reasons for relocating,” says Bhasin.

 

With some companies giving employees the option to work from home, a few are choosing to return to their native places. 

 

Devesh Mishra, a media professional, has moved to his village in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. “I plan to return after 15-20 days,” he says. 

 

A revenue officer who does not wish to be named says he got himself transferred from Delhi to Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, where the AQI is far better.

 

These are forced migrations, the people say, and wouldn’t have been necessary had it not been for Delhi’s unhealthy air. 

 

For a breath of fresh air

 

US embassy: Has formed an Air Quality Council, installed monitors in vehicles, offered WFH option

 

British High Commission: Tries to maintain the indoor AQI levels between 0 and 50 parts per million with air purifiers

 

Embassy of Switzerland: Is reimbursing employees for protective mask; is using Swiss technology such as IQAir systems to measure air quality