Indians look for solutions only when toxic pollution soars

When a thick, gray haze turned the view outside her home into a scene from a bad science fiction film last month, she bought pollution masks.

[...] the awareness that it's toxic enough to leave its citizens chronically ill and requires long-term lifestyle changes is relatively nascent.

Levels in the Indian capital averaged well over 900 micrograms per cubic meter, more than 36 times the level the WHO considers acceptable and 15 times the Indian norm.

"In the last four months (of 2013) we finally managed maybe 50 customers," he said, adding that those first customers were almost entirely foreigners living in the Indian capital who came from cities with much cleaner air.

Hundreds of people queued up outside the Vogmask store in a posh shopping area to spend as much as 2,000 rupees ($29) on high-end pollution masks manufactured by the California-based company.

Air pollution is a year-round problem in the Indian capital, but it's only when the cold winter makes toxic air visible that people respond.