Ghaziabad (India) (AFP) – Every time he rides a motorcycle, Kanwar Singh is completely covered in dirt. "I feel like I swallow 50 grams of dust a day," says this seller from Loni, in northern India, where it is impossible to escape the pollution.

First modification: 11/09/2026 - 11:46 Last modification: 11/09/2026 - 12:03

"It gets into my throat and lungs," explains the 55-year-old cigarette seller.

"At night, I have to drink hot water and gargle so I can breathe."

Located about 30 kilometers west of New Delhi, Loni was declared the most polluted city on the planet in 2025, according to the ranking of IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.

Its 700,000 inhabitants breathed an average concentration of 112.5 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5, carcinogenic particles so small that they penetrate directly into the blood.

This is an amount more than 22 times higher than the annual limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

New Delhi, as well as Noida and Ghaziabad on its outskirts, feature in the top 20 of the same list, along with four other Indian cities.

During pollution peaks, from November to January, when cold air keeps pollutants close to the ground, PM2.5 concentrations can be 50 times the daily limit recommended by the WHO.

And yet, like most of Loni's residents, Singh does not wear a mask and simply covers his face with a scarf or bandana.

"We are poor," explains Singh, who earns about five dollars a day. "If we had money, we would have bought an apartment somewhere else."

Few inhabitants can afford to live in a well-insulated home or equip themselves with air purifiers.

"Not wanting anything"

Loni is home to electronic waste treatment plants, textile dyeing workshops, plastic recycling facilities and metallurgical factories that contribute to pollution.

In August, the authorities in charge of monitoring air quality detected "numerous breaches" of environmental standards, including the presence of wood and coal ovens in several factories.

Added to these toxic emissions is the dust from construction sites and the numerous vehicles that circulate on roads full of potholes.

"I have throat problems and a burning sensation in my eyes. People get sick very often and very quickly," says Savita Devi, 51.

In the morning, before the sun begins to dissipate the smog, "I just don't feel like doing anything anymore," confesses this housewife, who recognizes that the situation affects her mental health.

Like many other neighbors, she has noticed that her grandchildren get sick more often when pollution increases, which raises the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, based in Finland, poor air quality caused more than 17,000 deaths in the capital's metropolitan area in 2023, 15% of total deaths.

Across India, air pollution caused 3.8 million deaths between 2009 and 2019, according to a study published in 2024 in the journal The Lancet.

But the measures taken so far by the authorities seem insignificant, such as the trucks that travel the roads spraying them with water to settle the dust on the ground.

"It comes back again and again," laments Inamul Khan, a 27-year-old shopkeeper. "We have to wash the clothes and sheets two or three times. In the end, everything ends up ruined."

Kunwar Singh, who suffers from respiratory problems, chooses to stay home on the worst pollution days.

"I wear a mask, I cover my face and I take my medications," he says, "just to survive."

© 2026 AFP

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