Written by Upasika SinghalNew Delhi | November 19, 2025 05:30 AM IST 5 min readDelhi’s air quality index rose to 374 on Tuesday from 351 a day earlier. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)Students, activists and other residents gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Tuesday to protest against the worsening air quality of the Capital. This comes nine days after people were detained for protesting at the India Gate. Armed with placards and props like gas masks, the protesters on Tuesday said that the current situation needed a long-term approach and response from the government.Atul, one of the protesters, who was wearing a gas mask attached to a canister with a potted plant inside, said: “I have been living in Delhi since 2021… I moved here from Prayagraj. In the last four years I have seen the air getting worse and worse here…I am not wearing this canister to draw attention. I just want to make people aware. Around 30-40 years ago, people would not have believed that they would have to buy water…I fear now we may be headed in the same direction when it comes to clean, breathable air.”Though Delhi’s air remained in the ‘very poor’ category on Tuesday, the air quality index (AQI) rose to 374 from 351 a day earlier. Greater Noida and Ghaziabad reported ‘severe’ air quality with the AQI at 454 and 434, respectively, as per the Central Pollution Control Board.There is no respite expected even in the coming days, with the IITM predicting that air quality would remain in the ‘very poor’ category.Among the protesters was Shubham Gupta, a young lawyer who handed out to the protesters RTI forms comprising 21 questions. “Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party-led government could pass the buck to the central government. Now that the BJP is in power, there is no one else left to blame. The BJP rules Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, the MCD and the NDMC,” said Gupta. He also clarified that the protest was not politically motivated. “I won’t shift the blame from Punjab either. During the four years of AAP rule the state has been decimated by pollution. But here in Delhi, we will hold the government in power accountable,” he said.The RTI forms had questions related to the authority that approved the plan to sprinkle water around AQI monitoring stations, and compliance reports submitted to the CPCB and the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) by the Delhi government. It also asked authorities if any study was carried out on how cities like Beijing or Los Angeles successfully tackled air pollution and if there are any short-term or long-term plans to tackle vehicular pollution in the Capital.According to the Decision Support System (DSS) by the IITM, at 18.15%, transport emissions in Delhi were the highest contributor to the particulate matter pollution in the city. Among other sources, neighbouring regions with ‘severe’ air quality, such as Ghaziabad (5.95%) and Gautam Buddha Nagar (4.85%) added more to Delhi’s pollution than farm fires whose share stood at 5.43%. Residential emissions also remained significant in Delhi at 4.6%.Story continues below this adAs has been the pattern this season, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh led in farm fire counts as the Indian Agricultural Research Institute reported 1,104 stubble burning events across six states on Tuesday — 641 in Madhya Pradesh, 377 in Uttar Pradesh, 15 in Punjab, 6 in Haryana, 65 in Rajasthan, and none in Delhi.The Supreme Court’s statement to the Centre on Monday also loomed heavy over the protesters’ motivations. “This was an extension of the India Gate protests … We wanted to wait until the Supreme Court came out and said something. After yesterday’s statement by CJI Gavai, we all thought that it must be followed with a protest to show the government that clean air is a demand of the citizens,” said a college student, who requested not to be named.Several protesters also highlighted the health issues they have been facing owing to air pollution. Ranvijay, a PhD student, said that almost everyone he knows has complained of having frequent headaches. “I have also had headaches and whenever I go to the doctor or take someone to the doctor, they say it is because of the pollution and ask us to wear a mask.”However, to him masks seemed to be an extremely short-term and short-sighted solution. “I think something has to be done on a policy level — like increasing public transports, bringing back the odd-even scheme or making efforts to curb industrial pollution,” he said.Story continues below this ad“We are asking for our right to life from a political entity — the government — while conducting a political activity: a protest. Everything is political,” he said.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:delhiDelhi air quality