Delhi’s air pollution might not be making headlines right now, but some young TikTokers in Delhi decided to highlight the pollution they face every day. 

Using sketch comedy and humor, the creativity of these young voices is bringing the conversation around air pollution in the masses.

For its users, TikTok has been more than just a short-video platform. Since its popularity has skyrocketed, the social app has become a platform used by over 200 million Indians to create awareness on social issues, including air pollution and climate change.

Awareness is the key point in solving air pollution

As the world gets hotter and overpopulated, the very air we breathe is growing dangerously polluted. Air pollution is a silent killer and its hard to skip this reality. Nine out of ten people now breathe polluted air, which kills 7 million people every year.

India alone has 14 out of 20 world’s most polluted cities. India also accounts for a quarter of the world’s deaths due to air pollution. 

The health effects of air pollution are serious – one-third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer, and heart disease are due to air pollution. This is having an equivalent effect to that of smoking tobacco, and much higher than, say, the effects of eating too much salt.

But, one positive thing is that citizens are coming out and demanding clean air and fighting for it through protests, strikes, and campaigns. One of the key points in solving the air pollution crisis is awareness. 

For its users, TikTok has been more than just a short-video platform. Since its popularity has skyrocketed, the social app has become a platform used by over 200 million Indians to create awareness on social issues, including air pollution and climate change.

“I am from Kashmir. A few months ago, when I came to Delhi, I couldn’t even stay here for even one day because of really bad air quality. That is when I thought of making Tik Tok videos on air pollution to spread awareness.â€_x009d_ said Mudasir Hussain Malik, a Tik Tok user. 

Using innovative storytelling, Tik Tok users are producing videos of different genres to show how people are getting affected by air pollution through their own personal experiences.

Another Tik Tok user Akshay Khanna with over 8 lakh followers on Tik Tok, said, “By making Tik Tok videos, even if one person becomes aware of how bad air pollution effects are on your health, I will be very happy. Air Pollution is rapidly growing and together we need to spread awareness.â€_x009d_ 

“I started making videos on air pollution after getting a project. That is when I realized how bad it is. I think if we have such a strong medium like Tik Tok, we should use it to make people aware of air pollution and its dire consequences.â€_x009d_ said Tik Tok user Sagar Shamra with over 9 lakh Tik Tok followers. 

“People burn garbage, use single-use plastics, waste water and what not. I think through Tik Tok, I will continue to address these small things which later on have a larger impact on the environment and people,â€_x009d_ said Tik Tok user Ankush Sharma.