Hospitals in Delhi are seeing a surge in children with breathing problems as the city’s air pollution worsens. Pediatricians report a steady rise in cases of coughing, sneezing, chest congestion, and other respiratory issues, particularly since October, when air quality levels reached hazardous levels.

The capital’s pollution is caused by multiple factors, including industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, low wind speeds, dropping winter temperatures, and seasonal crop burning in nearby states. Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has hovered between 300 and 400 in recent weeks more than 20 times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization.

Exposure to fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, poses serious health risks, especially for children whose immune systems are still developing. “During the pollution season, I see the proportion of children with respiratory complaints double or triple,” says Dr Shishir Bhatnagar, a pediatrician in Noida.

Parents are deeply anxious. Khushboo Bharti recounts a terrifying night when her one-year-old daughter Samaira developed a severe cough that led to vomiting. The child was rushed to the hospital, treated with steroids and oxygen, and diagnosed with pneumonia. “Even a few coughs now make me panic,” Bharti says.

Others, like Gopal, fear long-term effects after his two-year-old daughter required inhalers for chest congestion. Many parents are contemplating leaving the city to protect their children, though work and family commitments make relocation difficult.

Despite government interventions such as halting construction, restricting polluting vehicles, and even cloud seeding to induce rain, pollution levels remain dangerously high each winter. Studies show that prolonged exposure to air pollutants can stunt development, weaken immunity, and even affect cognitive abilities in children, while also increasing long-term risks of serious conditions like dementia.

For Delhi’s 20 million residents, and especially its youngest, the toxic haze continues to pose a persistent and urgent health threat.