Is Delhi still suitable to be India's national capital? questioned Congress MP Shashi Tharoor as pollution levels in the city soared to "extremely severe" levels on Tuesday. Tharoor's post on X ( ignited a heated debate on social media, with many users proposing a move to southern cities like Chennai or Hyderabad, where air quality is better.In 2022, Indonesia passed law to relocate its capital from Jakarta, known for its poor air quality, to Nusantara. The decision was driven by a combination of environmental issues and climate concerns. Nusantara, located approximately 1,000 km from Jakarta, is currently under construction, with the full transition expected to be completed by 2045.The Indonesian government, under President Joko Widodo, has estimated the cost of relocating the capital to Nusantara at $35 billion, approximately Rs 2.905 lakh crore. By 2045, up to 1.9 million people are expected to be relocated to the new capital.

What Tharoor Said?In a post on X, the Congress leader claimed that Delhi's air quality is nearly five times worse than Dhaka, the world's second-most polluted city. "Our government has been witnessing this nightmare for years and does nothing about it," Tharoor said while calling out the central government for its inaction on the prolonged crisis. "I have run an Air Quality Round Table for experts and stakeholders, including MPs, since 2015 but gave up last year because nothing seemed to change and no one seemed to care. This city is essentially uninhabitable from November to January inclusive and barely livable the rest of the year. Should it even remain the nation’s capital?" Tharoor said in a post on X.

Notably, Tharoor's post comes just days before the Winter session of Parliament in New Delhi, where Members of Parliament from across the country will gather. Is Delhi's Air Worse Than Smoking 49 Cigarettes A Day?Increasingly severe air quality in Delhi-NCR is causing alarming health risks, with residents breathing in pollution levels equivalent to smoking several cigarettes each day. On November 18, the national capital's Air Quality Index (AQI) hit a staggering 978, meaning a person is effectively inhaling the equivalent of 49.02 cigarettes daily.Since the end of October, the air quality in Delhi has been consistently worsening, driven by factors such as firecrackers, stubble burning and vehicular emissions. The situation is now critical, with Delhi residents facing their worst fears as pollution levels surpass previous records.According to aqi.in, as of 12:30 pm on November 18, Delhi's AQI stood at 978, a level that is hazardous to health and equivalent to smoking 49.02 cigarettes per day, as reported by HT. The Supreme Court has criticised the AAP-led state government for delaying the implementation of Stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) despite the alarming rise in pollution levels. An apex court bench, led by Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih, emphasised that no reduction in preventive measures would be allowed under GRAP Stage 4, even if the AQI falls below 450. In response to the worsening air quality, most schools in Delhi, except for grades 10 and 12, have shifted to online classes.