How to Combat Air Pollution in Delhi: Reduce Indoor AQI with Simple Home Remedies

The traffic and the AQI in Delhi seem to be competing in a race about who can make the lives of Delhiites more miserable.

Well, we can’t improve the traffic, but we can definitely conjure up some home remedies to help reduce the impact of this horrible AQI on our health.

1. Avoid strenuous outdoor exercise: 

Delhi’s current AQI is not built for strenuous outdoor exercise, which will force our lungs to be under more stress than they already are. Instead, turn back to our good old yoga, exercise such as Surya namaskars and Kapal Bhati to help strengthen your body and lungs.

2. Use Indoor Plants: 

Indoor plants such as Aloe vera, Tulsi, snake plants, and areca palms can help improve the AQI within the house, as they work as tiny air filters. 
They help absorb the harmful gases and particles in the air while releasing more oxygen, and help provide our lungs a little relief.

3. According to Ayurveda, camphor cleanses indoor air by killing microbes and absorbing toxins. Lighting a little camphor or cloves a couple of times a week helps make the air breathable again.

Pair camphor with a couple of bay leaves to help absorb toxins; it also helps create a more peaceful aura in the house.

4. Dust in a home can significantly worsen the AQI, as dust traps fine particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), and allergens when airborne act as pollutants, impacting breathing. 

A clean, dust-free house can help improve the effect of air pollution. This can be achieved by wet mopping, using microfiber cloths for cleaning surfaces, and making sure to clean AC filters. 

A fun way to keep your house dust-free is by placing bowls of rock salt around, as it helps absorb moisture and dust, while looking aesthetically pleasing.

5. Diffusers can help with reducing the impact of air pollution. Essential oils such as eucalyptus or tea tree oil, when released in the air through a diffuser, help combat airborne germs and reduce indoor air pollutants.

These oils possess antimicrobial properties, thus reducing the impact of air pollution when inside the house.

6. Hydrate: 

The simplest yet most effective way to fight pollution is to stay hydrated, as pollution leads to dehydration, thus making your body work overtime to flush out the toxins.
Stay hydrated by drinking 8- 10 glasses of water along with herbal teas and fresh juices to help detoxify your body.

7. Moringa Soup: 

Moringa is such an underrated superfood; it helps support lung health.
The easiest way to include it in your daily diet is by having some moringa powder with some warm water.
Another way to reap the benefits of moringa is by making soup with moringa leaves
It can be done by boiling a handful of moringa leaves, with some garlic, pepper, and a pinch of salt. Blend it all together.

Moringa is rich in antioxidants, iron, and Vitamin C. It also helps cleanse your blood and strengthen lung tissue, perfect for what we are experiencing in Delhi.

8. Garlic and honey: 

This is another home remedy to boost immunity and to strengthen your first line of defense against pollution.

Start by crushing and soaking a couple of garlic cloves in raw honey overnight.
Consume it first thing in the morning with some lukewarm water; it might not appease your taste buds, but this definitely keeps your throat safe from infections. 
Garlic also contains allicin that has antimicrobial and detoxifying effects, helping in strengthening the immune system.

9. Superfood Laddos: 

The easiest way to increase our immunity during this time is to increase the consumption of nutrient-dense foods that help support our bodies efficiently. The easiest way to add these to our diet is by making them tasty and accessible. And these laddos do just that.
Blend some toasted mixed seeds along with some of your favourite nuts and desiccated coconut.
To bind it all together, mix in some jaggery or some blended dates.
Form it into small laddos and coat it with some melted chocolate to make it more appealing.

As seeds warm up our body, while jaggery acts as a natural lung cleanser, helping in flushing out carbon and smoke residue. Making it perfect for mid-day snacking, nourishing, and healing.

Try these home remedies to breathe a little cleaner. 
As Delhi’s air may test your patience, but your indoor environment doesn’t have to. With these simple, slightly clever habits, your home or office can feel lighter, cleaner, and far more breathable.