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With India’s air pollution among the worst in the world, a coalition of socially disadvantaged women push governments and help each other breathe easier.
Forty year-old Hemlata leaves her one-room home in Nand Nagri every morning to cook in different households — no matter how punishing the heat nor how thick the smog. As a single mother to her only son, she says in Hindi, “I can’t afford a day off.”
Hemlata’s neighborhood, a crowded slum cluster in India’s capital, about 12 miles from the towering Bhalswa landfill, is home to many socially disadvantaged (so-called Scheduled Caste) families like hers, living with limited resources and poor access to basic services.
“I’ve lived here all my life, but in the last decade, my health has deteriorated,” Hemlata says. She lists some of her ailments: constant fatigue, thyroid and blood pressure problems, breathlessness so severe that she can’t climb a flight of stairs without stopping. Winters are the worst. “The air gets so bad, I’m in and out of hospitals more times than I can count.”
But while Delhi's toxic air is seen as a wintertime problem, Hemlata knows that the pollution never really leaves. Winters bring visible smog, but summers have their own silent threat — ozone. It builds up during the hottest hours of the day, when people are most active outdoors. Between March 1 and April 25, 2025, Delhi clocked 56 days of excessive ozone levels — nearly every single day.
The health toll is staggering: air pollution contributes to 2.18 million premature deaths in India every year, according to a British Medical Journal study.
Despite this, government action has lagged. “We have data on air pollution’s impact at the state level,” says Sagnik Dey, a professor from IIT Delhi’s Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, “but we don’t have focused estimates for those most exposed — people who spend long hours outdoors and face long exposure.”
That includes Delhi’s vast informal workforce — 80% of the city’s workers, most without access to air purifiers or other protection measures. “Women are especially vulnerable,” says Bhavreen Kandhari, co-founder of Warrior Moms, a clean air advocacy group. Women, especially from low-income households, often spend long hours cooking in poorly ventilated kitchens and are more likely to walk to work or rely on public transit rather than drive a private vehicle. As Kandhari notes, “They have fewer options to avoid exposure, both at home and on the job.”
Hemlata (and others) are taking action to help their neighbors stay safe and encourage them to urge the government to find solutions. For the past two years, Hemlata has been part of the Mahila Housing Trust (MHT), a grassroots organization that empowers women in low-income communities to take charge of their environment. In 2021, MHT launched the AQI Ambassador program, training eight women across Delhi, including Hemlata, to become local champions for clean air. Together, they’ve reached over 10,000 people across different neighborhoods, sparking conversations about air pollution and raising complaints with local authorities to ensure that their voices are heard.
As one of Delhi’s trained AQI ambassadors, Hemlata is equipped with basic information about air pollution — its dangers, health impacts, and simple, low-cost ways for communities to protect themselves. She now monitors air quality in her neighborhood using a handheld AQI device and shares practical tips: avoid peak traffic hours, wear cloth masks, improve indoor ventilation, and adopt diets that build resilience to pollution. She recommends selenium-rich foods like eggs and mushrooms, Vitamin C–rich fruits like lemons and oranges, and antioxidant-packed options like spinach, berries, and nuts — all locally available and affordable, especially during the winter and spring seasons. “I used to hear about AQI on TV but didn’t know what it meant,” she says. “Now, after my morning shift, I go around the community showing people the levels and how they can protect themselves.”
Professor Dey says sensor-based devices like the AQI monitors are emerging as powerful tools to deliver hyperlocal air quality data. “India has yet to integrate sensors into its official air quality management system,” he notes, “But once it does [they’re currently undergoing trials], they could play an important role in democratizing data, raising awareness, and prompting both individual protection and community action. When people understand the source of pollution in their own neighborhoods, they’re more likely to hold authorities accountable, push for change, and take steps to protect their health.”
Kandhari believes that real change begins at the grassroots level, but she’s quick to add, “only if backed by systemic accountability.”
“Mitigation must start where the risks are highest — for instance, where marginalized people live and work,” she says. While Kandhari pushes for institutional action, her network continues to build local resilience across Delhi and neighboring states, training women in AQI monitoring and running capacity-building programs that equip communities with the knowledge and tools to better understand pollution and protect their health.
Back in Nand Nagri, Hemlata gets ready for her weekly meeting with women in the neighborhood. In past meetings, she spread awareness about the nearby auto-repair market, where discarded materials and constant fumes worsen the area’s air quality. As a result of the group’s collective advocacy, the market now shuts down one day a week to curb pollution. She’s also encouraged women to get regular asthma check ups — something many once ignored, believing they couldn’t be affected without visible symptoms.
“At least I’m doing my bit for the community,” she says. “Even if it means working extra hours after a long day at my job.”
Quotes translated from Hindi by the author.
