Luke 21:11. Pestilence. Pestilence of air, breathing, lungs. Growing pestilence around the world. End of days.

 Deadly air: driving a rickshaw in Delhi. It would be impossible to be an Uber rickshaw driver in Delhi.

The Guardian. January 22, 2019.

Delhi’s rickshaw drivers are on the frontline of the city’s most notorious problem: horrendous air pollution.

The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent, Michael Safi, travels the city with Pandit, a driver whose exposure to the worsening air quality is affecting his health and his livelihood.

Levels of air pollution in India’s capital, Delhi, have consistently breached safe limits. This January is already the worst on record and the World Health Organisation classes Delhi as the sixth worst city in the world for air quality. A 2015 study concluded about half of Delhi’s 4.4 million schoolchildren had stunted lung development and would never completely recover.

The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent, Michael Safi, has lived and worked in Delhi for the past three years and has kept in regular contact with Pandit, a rickshaw driver who underwent a series of medical checks two years ago that identified his asthma. He has not been able to afford treatment, and after returning for more checks this week he has been told it would be best for his health if he moved away from Delhi – a dilemma faced by millions of the city’s residents, overwhelmingly the poorest.