Harder to breathe: Mumbai wheezes its way to becoming pollution capital

La Nina, construction worsen air quality; spike in respiratory ailments

In December, Sakshi Tawade began to get bouts of cough and breathlessness whenever she stepped outdoors. By the end of January, the coughing intensified even when she was inside her house in Chembur. She had to be admitted to a hospital and the doctor said she had asthma.

Last month, the 12-year-old quit her school’s sub-junior track team; she was the captain. “It is disheartening that young sportspersons are developing such ailments,” a heartbroken Tawade told Business Standard.

It will be no consolation to her that respiratory ailments have become rampant across age groups, lifestyles, and income slabs in Mumbai