November 24, 2025
NEW DELHI – The morning air in Rajasthan’s Sikar district felt different on Sunday: thicker, heavier, and strangely bitter. People stepping out for school and work slowed down, coughing and wiping their eyes. Within hours, the smell of smoke settled over neighbourhoods, and panic spread as several children complained of sudden breathing trouble. By afternoon, the city’s hospital had become a crowded waiting room for worried families.
Local residents and students were brought in one after another, struggling to breathe. Doctors moved quickly checking oxygen levels and calming frightened parents. Most children were stable. But the unusual wave of breathlessness raised alarm across the city.
Sikar Additional District Magistrate Ratan Lal arrived at the hospital soon after. Speaking to reporters, he said the administration was treating the matter seriously.
“The children brought here are nearly fine,” he assured. “We are investigating this and have deployed the Pollution Control Board. Twenty-two patients, including fifteen children, have been admitted. Prima facie, the cause of this is burning of clothes in a nearby furnace.”
Also Read: Delhi chokes on deadly smog: AQI rockets past 400, air becomes poison
The explanation shocked many residents. The thought that a furnace burning discarded clothes could blanket a city in harmful fumes sparked concern and anger among locals who have long complained about industrial smoke drifting into their neighbourhoods.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s latest bulletin, Sikar’s air quality stood in the Moderate category with an AQI of 172. But those numbers felt out of place for a city where people were being rushed to the hospital. Many residents said the pollution spike seemed sudden and unusually intense raising questions about whether a single furnace incident could cause such a widespread effect.
While Sikar struggled with its own crisis, the national capital was in no better shape. Delhi woke up under a thick, depressing sheet of smog on Sunday morning. Streetlights stayed on longer than usual, and the horizon faded into a dirty grey. At 7 am, Delhi’s average AQI touched 381, deep in the very poor zone, despite the enforcement of GRAP-IV restrictions aimed at controlling the pollution surge.