'Can Feel Pollution Entering My Body': NRI Reacts After Re-visiting Delhi, Urges People To 'Leave' City

As Delhi grapples with a severe pollution crisis, a viral post by a London-based tech professional has reignited the debate around the city’s worsening air quality. The NRI, who grew up in the capital, shared a post on his X handle, describing how his recent visit left him shocked, sick, and desperate to leave.

In his post, he urged residents to “leave Delhi, go in debt if you have to,” calling the situation nothing short of a health emergency. The techie wrote that although he had lived in Delhi for years and was aware of its pollution problem, he never truly comprehended the severity until he experienced it after living abroad. “I used to think, how bad can the AQI really be? I grew up here, studied here, and never felt a huge difference,” he noted, adding that the sight of people jogging or walking without masks once made him believe the situation was manageable.

Leave Delhi, go in debt if you have to.

I used to think, how bad can the AQI really be for people in Delhi? I knew it was bad, but I never understood the scale because I didn’t feel it as drastically. I grew up in Delhi, studied here, and never felt a huge difference. You see… pic.twitter.com/OV5RVE351C

— Kunal Kushwaha (@kunalstwt) November 22, 2025

But his perception changed drastically the moment he landed in Delhi after years of breathing clean air in London. “I could literally taste and smell the pollution,” he wrote. Even at AQI 200, a level many Delhi residents consider ‘normal’, he felt a sore throat, irritation, and what he described as “needles in my lungs.” He claimed he could “feel the pollution entering” his body with every breath.