Lately, Mumbai's air quality has become a major concern for Mumbaikars and residents. The deteriorating air quality has weakened people's immunity, leading to a rise in respiratory ailments. The issue is not just due to climate and weather conditions but also aggravated by extensive road digging and ongoing construction, which add dust to the environment.
Many Mumbaikars have voiced their concerns on social media, expressing alarm over the hazardous rise in air pollution.
It's not just citizens; celebrities have also joined the cause, advocating for cleaner and more breathable air.
Joining the conversation on poor air quality, comedian and actor Vir Das—known for his witty take on social issues—took to Instagram and shared a sarcastic post about Mumbai's worsening air pollution. In his signature humor, Vir compared breathing in the city to smoking cigarettes.
His satirical take on Mumbai's AQI left netizens in splits, sparking a social media debate over which city has worse air quality: Mumbai or Delhi.
His Instagram post read, "I'll smoke a cigarette socially, maybe fifteen days a year. The remaining days, I'm a breathing mumbaikar. Same taste. Today Mumbai was a Marlboro Light."
Netizens had a hilarious response to Vir's analogy.
"I live in Delhi. It rained yesterday, so we are Esse Lights at the moment. Usually, we are Marlboro Advance." Another added, "Delhi keeps changing taste until it turns into Gudang Garam."
Sonam Kapoor echoed Vir's thoughts on Mumbai's air quality and reshared his post on her Instagram story.
Take a look:
However, as soon as Sonam Kapoor reshared Vir's post on her Instagram story, she faced harsh criticism.
A user wrote, "She lives in a house worth crores where there are so many air purifiers then steps in a Mercedes and then to the sets. She hardly gets to breathe the air we do here. Who is even complaining?"
Another wrote, "Please leave Mumbai and go."
The third one said, "Attention seeker."
Vir on Mumbai's AQI
Vir has often tried to raise awareness about the decreasing air quality in metro cities through alarming Instagram posts. In one of the recent ones, he wrote, "Unless something drastic is done, the legacy of each government is going to be the pollution they let us live in. This point will probably be taken up when we realise the long-term effect it had on the generation just born, and those in old age too. Right now, it feels like new pollution, doesn't it? And if we think it's unrealistic, they'd let us live like that for a decade."
The actor added, "Some drastic policy decisions need to happen. Goes without saying that the decisions will make us hugely unhappy in the interim. We will moan like we did when we got new airports and new bridges, but it will eventually be worth it. I'm just saying it's 7:30 a.m., and the AQI is 170. At this time, there are kids going to school and old people on walks. Air isn't political, air doesn't care about your income status, air isn't religious, air isn't patriotic, air doesn't vote. If there's one thing worth fixing, it's the air."
Bryan Johnson walks out of a podcast
Earlier, Bryan Johnson walked out of Nikhil Kamath's podcast due to poor air quality and later took to X to share his thoughts on Mumbai's air pollution.
"A firestorm of debate has ignited in India since I walked off a podcast due to the poor air quality. Indians, organize yourselves and take action. You will do more to improve India's health by cleaning up the air than by curing cancer," Johnson wrote.
He also highlighted how people have normalized pollution, stating, "People would be outside running. Babies and small children are exposed from birth. No one wore a mask, which can significantly decrease exposure. It was so confusing."
Additionally, he expressed his disbelief that India's leadership had not declared air pollution a "national emergency."
