Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said returning to Delhi amid the toxic air pollution was like “entering a gas chamber”. She also urged parties cutting across political lines to arrive at a permanent solution to this disturbing trend.

Gandhi was returning to the national capital after campaigning in Kerala for the November 20 Wayanad bypolls, which also marks her electoral debut.

“Coming back to Delhi from Wayanad where the air is beautiful and the AQI is 35, was like entering a gas chamber. The blanket of smog is even more shocking when seen from the air,” she said in a post on X.

“Delhi’s pollution gets worse every year. We really should put our heads together and find a solution for cleaner air. It’s beyond this party or that, it’s practically impossible to breathe especially for kids, elders and those with respiratory issues. We just have to do something about it,” she added.

A bypoll was necessitated in the hill constituency of Wayanad after Rahul Gandhi, who won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat in the general elections held earlier this year, vacated it after he also won from the Rae Bareli constituency.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi remained in ‘severe’ category for the second day in a row, causing health problems for residents and low visibility issues.

According to experts, Delhi’s annual bad air days are caused by a combined effect of geographical factors, pollution from local sources such as vehicles or construction and pollution caused by crop stubble burning in the neighbouring states. Any solution would require a concerted effort by all stakeholders, which include multiple states. So far, political rivalry and blame game have punctured prospects of a lasting solution.

This year too, the toxic air quality has prompted heated exchanges between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP, which in power at the Centre.

The matter has also reached the Supreme Court, which questioned last week why its ban on firecrackers was not followed this Diwali. It said no religion encourages any activity that creates pollution and that the right to live in a pollution-free atmosphere was a fundamental right of every citizen, protected by Article 21 of the Constitution.