Why some Delhi residents leave the city during Diwali

Sangeeta Chauhan knew something was wrong with her son’s health early on. In his first winter, she watched the newborn Shiv Chauhan fall sick with high fevers, wheezing coughs and skin rashes.

In 2010, when he was just two, she took him to a paediatrician who said that Shiv had a lowered immune system and a borderline-asthma condition. The baby needed to get out of Delhi, the doctor said. Sangeeta and her husband could not permanently move because of their work running furniture stores in the city.

But from then on, the family left every year during the period when Shiv’s condition was the worst: Diwali.

All through the year, Delhi’s 33 million residents breathe toxic air with pollutants crossing limits considered safe for humans. But the pollution reaches hazardous levels in the winter as smoke from farm fires in neighbouring states gets added to existing vehicular and industrial emissions, and changes in the weather and wind speed trap the toxic air over the city.

The pollution levels start climbing in October, which is also when the air in Delhi turns festive for Diwali. During Diwali week, smoke from firecrackers, which have traditionally been a part of the festivities, further compounds the smog. The impact is felt most...

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