While the active, culture-rich aspects of big cities can be a major selling point for millions of people, their dense populations often lead to poor air quality, triggering widespread health concerns.
In December, the city of Delhi, India, saw its AQI spike to terrifying levels. One Redditor shared a video that captured the surreal nature of the extreme event.
(click here to watch the video if the embed does not appear)
"View from a balcony in Delhi, India where the AQI is currently 800~900," wrote the Redditor.
In the video, you can see a thick cloud caused by extremely dangerous air quality index levels in the city.
As an interactive map from India's Central Pollution Control Board noted, several neighborhoods in Delhi have recorded AQI levels well above 400. According to the CPCB, those readings surpassed the severe AQI levels.
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Poor AQI can be caused by a few factors, including elevated levels of pollutants such as particulate matter from human activities and ground-level ozone. Vehicle pollution, industrial processes, and the agriculture industry can directly cause massive spikes in poor air quality.
Natural events like wildfires and dust storms can also play a big role in affecting air quality. These factors can even be exacerbated by warm and stagnant air, which can trap pollutants close to the ground, triggering extreme events such as the one seen in Delhi.
As AQI levels increase, potentially serious health risks can increase as well. This can cause vulnerable portions of the population to fall victim to respiratory health issues and even cardiovascular concerns. However, once AQI levels exceed severe levels, these increased health risks can impact the entire population.
"This looks dystopian as hell," said one user in the comments section.
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Do you think your city has good air quality? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Definitely 🥰 "Currently in [the] south of India and the AQI here is 16," another added. "The scale on the app I use maxes out at 500, it's crazy what's happening in Delhi!"
"This is what happens when you have a 200 AQI city due to pollution and then weather makes it 4x worse," suggested a third.
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