Lethal smog is back in the world’s most polluted capital. Residents have had enough

It’s easy to tell when it’s smog season in New Delhi; the air gets darker, heavier and starts scratching the throats and testing the lungs of the city’s 34 million residents. Pollution been an issue for so long in the Indian capital that the city’s famous Red Fort is turning black, an outward sign of a growing health and political crisis that’s now bringing angry residents onto the streets.

“I just want to be able to breathe again,” said Sofie, 33, at a protest near Delhi’s India Gate earlier this month. “There seems to be no political will to fix the issue,” she added, surrounded by dozens of protesters wearing face masks and carrying nebulizers.

Successive Delhi governments have had air pollution plans dating back to 1996, but decades on, the air remains dangerously unhealthy, especially at this time of year when colder air traps smoke and fumes from fireworks, crop-burning and heavy city traffic.

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