Jonty Rhodes, one of the greatest cricketers to have played for South Africa, triggered a big debate over the rising Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi, with the arrival of winters. The AQI in the national capital plunged into the ‘severe’ category on Sunday, with several parts of the city seeing readings crossing the 400-mark. The situation sparked outrage among the public, with several people taking to social media, sharing videos and pictures of how quickly their air purifier filters are getting clogged.
Rhodes, who also spends a lot of time in India, shared two pictures on social media, highlighting the big difference between the levels of pollution in Delhi and Goa. He also asked pertinent questions, seeking answers on what can be done to improve the air quality during winters.
“Passing through Delhi en route to Ranchi this evening, and as always, it’s hard to digest the low levels of air quality here. Am grateful to be living in a small fishing village in South Goa ##AQI #whats2Bdone,” Jonty wrote on X, sharing a post as he passed through Delhi on his way to Ranchi.
In another post, the South Africa great highlighted how clear the skies are in Goa, in comparison to Delhi, allowing his kids to freely play football outdoors, whereas in Delhi, the doctors don’t recommend outdoor activities.
“This is what my “home” sunsets look like – and yes, those are my kids playing football! In Delhi they suggest staying indoors.
This is what my “home” sunsets look like – and yes, those are my kids playing football! In Delhi they suggest staying indoors pic.twitter.com/AyJ0Cn4c2Z
— Jonty Rhodes (@JontyRhodes8) November 9, 2025
Here are some of the reactions to Rhodes’ posts:
Indeed Mr Legend .
BTW NONE of our own cricketing legends can dare say the same thing on this platform.
— Prashant (@sasguy235) November 9, 2025
I have always travelled to Punjab via Delhi. It is one of my favourite cities and I always loved to spend a couple of days here before going to my hometown.But this time, it is too much to handle. I can’t put my health at risk knowingly and I have booked direct flight to Amritsar
— Amarpal Singh (@ImAmaR13) November 10, 2025
Delhi = Dark Lungs
— wadii14 (@boomrahj) November 9, 2025
The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), meanwhile, said on Sunday that there’s no need to invoke Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the Delhi-NCR region, suggesting that the air quality has constantly shown signs of improvement.
Given that Delhi’s daily average AQI has shown a consistent declining trend – improving to 370 at 4 p.m. and 365 at 5 p.m. – and with forecasts from IMD and IITM indicating that the AQI will remain in the ‘very poor’ category in the coming days, the Sub-Committee on GRAP opined that invocation of Stage III is not required at the moment. Ongoing measures under Stages I and II will continue across NCR,” the CAQM said in an official statement.
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