'Can Feel Pollution Entering My Body': NRI Reacts After Re-visiting Delhi, Urges People To 'Leave' City

As Delhi grapples with a severe pollution crisis, a viral post by a London-based tech professional has reignited the debate around the city’s worsening air quality. The NRI, who grew up in the capital, shared a post on his X handle, describing how his recent visit left him shocked, sick, and desperate to leave.

In his post, he urged residents to “leave Delhi, go in debt if you have to,” calling the situation nothing short of a health emergency. The techie wrote that although he had lived in Delhi for years and was aware of its pollution problem, he never truly comprehended the severity until he experienced it after living abroad. “I used to think, how bad can the AQI really be? I grew up here, studied here, and never felt a huge difference,” he noted, adding that the sight of people jogging or walking without masks once made him believe the situation was manageable.

But his perception changed drastically the moment he landed in Delhi after years of breathing clean air in London. “I could literally taste and smell the pollution,” he wrote. Even at AQI 200, a level many Delhi residents consider ‘normal’, he felt a sore throat, irritation, and what he described as “needles in my lungs.” He claimed he could “feel the pollution entering” his body with every breath.

Calling it a crisis that people have become dangerously accustomed to, the NRI warned against long-term exposure and said buying property in Delhi “makes no sense.” He even extended the warning to Mumbai, urging people to consider relocating to safer environments.

The user concluded by saying he had cut his trip short and would be flying out early, adding, “Please leave this city for your own sake.”