The Cost of Delhi’s Air: Lives, Livelihoods, and Lost Futures

“Pollution is a challenge in India, and its impact on the Indian economy is far more consequential than the impact of tariffs imposed so far.” This recent remark by Gita Gopinath at Davos underscored concern regarding air pollution in India, not just as a health emergency but also as a major macroeconomic risk.

The Scale of the Crisis

Air pollution in Delhi has long remained critical. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air’s (CREA) latest analysis (2025), Delhi consistently recorded the highest pollution levels nationwide in every season of 2024–25, suggesting that its air-quality crisis is a year-round problem. It suffered an annual average PM2.5 concentration of 101 µg/m³, which was 20 times the WHO guideline level.

The Economic Toll

Continuous exposure to such toxic air is silently choking the city’s engine of development – its human capital. Air pollution is estimated to cost the city nearly 5.8% of its annual GDP (CREA report, 2020), as workers lose productivity due to cognitive impairment, illness, and absenteeism. Businesses, in turn, report incurring extra costs owing to the provision of protective measures, such as air purifiers and masks, to ensure workplace functionality.

The health consequences are even more alarming. Growing evidence links breathing hazardous air to an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. A 2025 University of Chicago study estimates that long-term exposure to PM2.5 shortens life expectancy in Delhi by around eight years. An International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health study (2022) finds that children under the age of 10 are especially vulnerable, with pollution exposure adversely affecting attendance at schools, attention spans, and learning outcomes. Research from the Institute of Economic Growth (2022) warns that early-life health shocks can translate into poorer labour market prospects later in life. Pollution is therefore not just a present cost but a tax on the future.

The Inequality of Exposure

A large segment of our workforce such as the gig workers, street cleaners, construction workers – have no means to afford preventive measures such as air purifiers and masks. For many, the nature of their jobs requires them to work outdoors. They are forced to choose between forgoing income needed to feed their families or sacrificing their own health by continuing to work in this environment. Every time the city initiates GRAP III and IV measures – halting construction-related activities in the region and encouraging work from home –  these workers disproportionately bear the economic brunt.

A recent survey from Janphal Foundation (2024) reveals the hidden cost of India’s gig economy: a staggering 85% workers clock over 8 hours a day, turning the so-called job flexibility into a daily struggle for survival rather than choice. As home deliveries surge, gig workers inhale toxic traffic fumes for hours, and an Atmospheric Pollution Research study (2023) shows they face elevated exposure to particulate matter and volatile organic compounds, revealing the unequal health costs of urban convenience. Compounding this vulnerability, only one out of five gig workers report having any life or health-related insurance, as per a 2022 study by IIMA Ventures, leaving them prone to medical shocks while working long, uncertain hours in an economy that depends heavily on their labour.

The Price of Progress: A Question We Can’t Ignore

This raises an uncomfortable but unavoidable question: are the aspirations of Viksit Bharat compatible with the environmental reality? While the government is implementing measures through the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH), these actions must be supplemented with strict enforcement and credible monitoring to be effective. There is a need to declare war on pollution and commit to sustained, enforceable methods to address this “airpocalypse”. As illness becomes more common, workdays are lost, and medical expenses keep piling up, it forces a critical question: how long can air pollution be brushed off as temporary before its impact on people’s lives and incomes can no longer be reversed?

Authors: Sai Jitha Vaishnavi Ganda, Undergraduate Student, FLAME University; and Prof. Manasvi Sharma, Faculty of Economics, FLAME University.