As AQI levels hit sky-high levels, urban Indians gravitate to getaway homes

Affluent Indians are increasingly buying second homes not as weekend getaways but as critical health guards as cities turn into gas chambers, thanks to ever-increasing air pollution levels

Even as Delhi’s air turns toxic and Mumbai’s famed sea breeze fails to clear air pollutants, India’s affluent are no longer just escaping noxious air pockets for the weekend — they’re relocating for months. A growing number of urban professionals, entrepreneurs and well-off retirees are now treating their second homes as seasonal primary residences, spending anywhere from one to six months in cleaner, calmer destinations like Goa, Kasauli, Dehradun, Alibaug, and Coorg.

 

Basically, any place they can enjoy the most fundamental right of all: a breath of clean air.

 

Second Home: A Seasonal Survival Strategy

 

As climate volatility worsens and