Delhiites Visit Dehradun To Escape Pollution, Only To Find AQI At 300

As a thick winter smog once again engulfs Delhi, forcing schools to shut intermittently and residents indoors, thousands of people are heading for the hills in search of cleaner air. But for many travelling to Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand, the promise of relief is proving elusive as over the past two days, Dehradun's Air Quality Index (AQI) has slipped into the "poor" category.

According to pollution specialists monitoring the city, Dehradun's real-time AQI on Wednesday hovered between 260 and 300, deteriorating sharply after sunset.

Professor Vijay Shridhar, who heads the pollution monitoring centre at Doon University, was quoted by news agency PTI, saying that the average AQI touched 291 during the day, placing the city in a grey zone between "polluted" and "severely polluted".

"There is some improvement during daylight hours because of air movement," he said. "But at night, the AQI crosses 300 at several locations. While Dehradun is not yet comparable to Delhi, the air quality cannot be described as satisfactory."

Nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas and home to nearly 1.7 million people, Dehradun has long been marketed as a city with a gentler climate and cleaner air. Spread over more than 3,000 square kilometres, it attracts tourists, pilgrims, students and retirees alike. In clear weather, the Mussoorie hills are visible from much of the city.

That view has recently been obscured.

Residents say a visible layer of haze now hangs over the surrounding hills, and some young people have begun wearing masks outdoors - a sight that was once rare in the city. Environmental experts attribute the worsening air quality to a combination of factors: a rapid increase in vehicle numbers, the burning of waste, unchecked construction activity and seasonal forest fires across Uttarakhand.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed that by 4pm on Wednesday, Dehradun's AQI stood at 294, firmly in the "poor" category. While that remains significantly lower than Delhi-NCR's readings - which routinely cross into "severe" territory during winter - tourists say it falls far short of expectations.

Amid the heavy pollution, the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, a 212-kilometre, six-lane access-controlled highway, is expected to open to traffic within the next two weeks, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told Parliament on Wednesday. Once operational, it will reduce travel time between the two cities from more than six hours to around two.