Superman in oxygen mask, weddings in ICU: Delhiites turn to memes, satire amid pollution crisis

Delhi’s plummeting air quality is not only dominating news but is also top of the trending list on social media as Delhiites are using satire to vent their ire against the city's toxic pollution levels.

In the midst of Delhi’s choking smog, a “wedding with oxygen masks” video has gone viral — blending romance with the city’s grim pollution reality.

The clip features a bride and groom romancing while wearing oxygen masks, capturing the absurdity of love and life in the metropolitan city.

Unlike a typical dreamy wedding video, the reel takes a hilariously twist. The groom isn’t showering the bride with flowers — he’s throwing medicine strips towards her.

Instead of a royal palace or garden, their final wedding portraits are shot in what looks like a hospital room — complete with oxygen cylinders in the background and the bride administering CPR to the groom who is gasping for breath.

The video ends with the couple posing together... hands entwined, masks on.. proving that in Delhi, even love needs life support.

One meme on X shows Superman sitting in a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask, captioned: “Superman after flying through Delhi’s air for 10 minutes”.

An Instagram reel playing a song from Bollywood movie ‘Delhi-6’ – ‘Yeh Dilli Hai Mere Yaar’ in the background, with the caption: “Delhi mein itna pollution hai ki log pooch rahe hain ‘Tu jaanta hai mera baap kahan hai?’”

The caption takes a hilarious twist to the often bandied about threat in Delhi, ‘Tu jaanta nahi mera baap kaun hai?’

Amid demands for renaming Delhi as Indraprastha, a social media user commented, “Delhi is going to be renamed as Indraprastha, now pollution and crime will also back to 14th century.”

Netizens also poked fun at politics and pollution together with one poster circulating on Instagram that read: “Ab ki baar, 1000 AQI paar”.

Another meme shows a man holding a placard that says: “I miss breathing.”

Since Diwali, the national capital's air quality has consistently remained in the “poor” or “very poor” category, occasionally slipping into the “severe” zone.

As per CPCB standards, an AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good’, 51-100 ‘satisfactory’, 101-200 ‘moderate’, 201-300 ‘poor’, 301-400 ‘very poor’, and 401-500 ‘severe’.