You can't have high AQI without low AIQ. Delhi-NCR is an example of it

The first part of solving a problem is to recognise it. To solve the high AQI problem in Delhi-NCR, we must first understand its relation with AIQ.

In Short

• Delhi NCR is again in the middle of seasonal high AQI
• The AQI is inversely proportional to AIQ
• It is nearly impossible to solve AQI and AIQ problems in Delhi

It is that time of the year. The one when in Delhi NCR we wake up in our high-rise condos to the mountain vibes, to see smokey air layered over the city outside our balconies. And then we complain. Why this! Why that! Cough! Cough! Farmers! Sneeze! Cough! GRAP! Double engine! Triple engine! By god we complain so damn much, before smoking a couple of cigarettes in the balcony and flicking the butt down in the condo of neighbours living under us.

But there is a simple fact we don't recognise. High AQI in Delhi NCR is inevitable. It is a fact as tall and indisputable as Qutab Minar, even if we can't clearly see it in the November smog. That is because there is IQ in AQI. The acronym itself tells us it is inevitable, a certainty and there is nothing this engine or that engine, or even Double Engine, can do anything about it.

Let's unpack it. Follow through carefully because I am going a little deep. But once understood, you will get it effortlessly.

I am sure most of you know it well but just to repeat: AQI is an acronym for Aggregate Quotient of Intelligence, though some people call it Air Quality Index. Did you notice something? In AQI, there is Quotient Intelligence, which in itself is an anagram of Intelligence Quotient. Aka IQ. In fact, not just an anagram. The two acronyms - IQ and QI - are a mirror image of each other.

Now you are getting it. The word mirror has clicked it for you. But in case some of you are still confused, let me explain with the help of an example from Einstein. It is easy to follow him because you don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand Einstein.

In this case, I am talking about the Theory of Special Relativity. Unlike General Relativity, another theory by Einstein where connection is direct, in case of Special Relatively - as college lovers know it very well - the connection and attraction is in reverse. Hence, it is "special". So, what is this Special Relativity and how is it relevant to AQI in Delhi? Einstein explained the connection between time and speed in special terms, that is to say inversely. His theory says time moves slower the faster you are going, and time moves faster the slower you are. Indirect relationship between the two, as if they are the mirror image of each other.

It is the same with AQI and AIQ, which stands for Aggregate Intelligence Quotient. In our case, this would be the aggregate or the total IQ of the entire Delhi NCR.

By now you have understood the connection I am trying to make. But just, so to speak, make it clear in the middle of this November haze: The AQI in Delhi NCR is inversely proportional to the aggregate IQ in the region. The lower the AIQ the higher is the AQI. And higher the AIQ, the lower is the AQI. You see how it all fits into the laws of special relativity, or how both AQI and AIQ are mirror images of each other.

In other words: high AQI shows us a mirror.

The problem is we don't want to look at it. Looking into the mirror is not a delightful exercise as anyone who doesn't exercise is painfully aware of. It tends to show us a picture we don't want to see. The belly. The haggard face. Everything that we lack, materially or physically. That receding hairline. Mirrors are terrible.

So is AQI. Every year in winter it tries to show us a mirror. It reflects our collective IQ. And by god we hate what we see in the mirror because we know there is nothing that can be done. Except complaining about it, smoking a few cigarettes, and some choicest of MC and BC for farmers somewhere in Haryana and Punjab. After doing all of this every morning we gaze at the romantically foggy view of sunrise with eyes full of smog and tears, and then take out our petrol-guzzling SUV to drive to work in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

The kind of problems we see in our looking mirror are nearly impossible to solve. For AQI in Delhi NCR it is the same. Impossible to solve. Because solving it means increasing the aggregate IQ in the region, and that is not possible. At least not quickly. It is like height. You look into the mirror and don't feel great about your height, but there is nothing you can do about it. You can build muscles but can't add inches even if you are well-heeled.

It is the same with AQI in Delhi. You can try to get an air purifier for your drawing room and your car. Your employer can install an industrial air filtration system in the office. But that is the extent of it. You cannot fix AQI in Delhi in one week, one month, one year, or even in a few years.

Because fixing AQI means transforming the entire region from the ground up. It means fixing everybody in it in a way that raises the AIQ. I hope you do remember the inverse relationship between AQI and AIQ I just explained? But increasing AIQ in this region seems nearly impossible. We are creatures of our habits. Or as the saying goes - you can't teach an old dog new tricks. There is no way we can be like Londoners who fixed their AQI in the 1950s by increasing their AIQ. Or like the Chinese who lowered their AQI in places like Beijing 10 years ago by raising their AIQ by 20 points. Those options are not available to us. So we are stuck with low AIQ and high AQI.

The best way to deal with high AQI is to do what we already do: enjoy the view from our balconies, cough some, sneeze some more, buy an air purifier, and pray for some wind and rain. Sometimes prayers do get answered.

- Ends