Chess star Vidit Gujrathi questions ‘no one cares' attitude as Delhi air turns toxic

As residents of the national capital wake up to another day under a blanket of smog, Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi has voiced what many in Delhi have been quietly feeling — that the city’s air crisis is being normalised.

In a sharply worded post on X, Gujrathi questioned the lack of urgency around Delhi’s worsening air quality, warning that prolonged exposure to such pollution was effectively harming people in slow motion. “We are slowly being poisoned and no one cares? Shouldn’t solving this be the top priority?” he wrote.

Alongside the message, the 30-year-old shared a screenshot of an air quality dashboard showing Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) touching a hazardous 598 — a level considered dangerous even for short-term exposure.

The post struck a chord online, quickly drawing reactions from users who echoed his concern, anger and exhaustion. While some thanked him for speaking up, others expressed cynicism, pointing out that warnings and outrage surface every winter, only to fade without lasting solutions.

A user wrote, “Sad to say, even a few areas of Bangalore have over 200 in AQI.”

Another user commented, “Bro, it will take minimum 3 to 4 years to solve this. So, even if government is doing something it will take time to show result irl. After all, mistakes of 25 years cannot be solved in 1 month. Delhi AQI started deteriorating since 2001.”

"Delhi's AQI hitting 700+ Hazardous levels while breathing fresh air is basically a luxury vacation now… It's like the government ranked us #1 in the "World's Slowest & Most Expensive Suicide Method" contest...and we're still proudly taking gold every winter," the third user wrote.

Check out the post here:

The criticism comes at a time when pollution levels in the capital remain firmly in the danger zone. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed Delhi’s AQI at 376 at 9am on Saturday, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category. This marked a further decline from the 24-hour average AQI of 354 recorded on Friday afternoon.

Authorities have also flagged the possibility of even worse conditions ahead. According to the Air Quality Early Warning System’s latest bulletin, Delhi’s air is expected to slip into the ‘severe’ category over the weekend, before marginally improving to ‘very poor’ early next week. The outlook for the following six days, however, offers little relief.

Every winter, Delhi’s air pollution crisis sparks public outrage, political sparring and emergency measures. Gujrathi’s post has once again underlined a recurring question — whether concern alone is enough, or if sustained action will ever match the scale of the problem faced by millions living in the capital.