"I Have Been A Good Parent": Viral Tweet Comparing Delhi's AQI With Helsinki's Strikes A Chord

As pollution in Delhi worsens, an X post by author Manoj Arora on why her daughter settled in Finland's Helsinki is going viral. In the post, Arora says that Helsinki's air quality index (AQI) is 22, compared to more than 500 in Delhi. The post has sparked a huge debate on the social media platform, with some users considering the same for their children while others pointing out to the loneliness factor.

"I am so proud that my daughter is settled in Helsinki, Finland. AQI, Helsinki : 22. I am settled in Delhi. AQI, Delhi: 507. I have been a good parent," Arora said in his tweet.

I am so proud that my daughter is settled in Helsinki, Finland. AQI, Helsinki : 22 I am settled in Delhi AQI, Delhi: 507 I have been a good parent.

— Manoj Arora (@manoj_216) November 5, 2026

Some users accused the author of being negative, while others congratulated him.

"I was at Oulu, Finland for around 1 year back in 2005. Air Quality is good but hey not a fun place like India. 6 months night - 6 month days- difficult for body to adjust. Future generations will speak finish language mainly," commented one user.

"Helsinki - lonliness, outcast from locals, growing intolerance and hate for immigrants, forever feeling of not belonging to the place, missing family, friends, little joys of life, missing all festivals, terrible cold grey, gloomy weather for half year," said another.

Arora responded to these users saying the work-life balance is unmatched in Helsinki. He also said that her daughter moved to Finland because she wanted to work with medical professionals and create analytical models that can predict human diseases.

A few X users said there are places in India that have better air quality than Delhi and advised Arora to move there.

"No need to go to Finland. I shifted from Delhi to Dehradun, AQI : around 60. Make this less complicated, make Delhi less crowded, less vehicles on roads. Encourage more & more people for not settling here unnecessarily after retirement or when not having any type of compulsion to live here.  At least try something, make some effort to contribute something," one user commented.

"If Russia attacks Finland you will the first one crying for repatriation flight back to AQI 500," another user said sarcastically.

On Friday, the air quality in Delhi deteriorated sharply and edged closer to the 'severe' category, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 391.

Of the 59 monitoring stations across the city, 30 recorded severe air quality at 9 am, while the remaining stations were in the very poor category.

The forecast comes amid the ongoing peak stubble-burning period in the National Capital Region, while firecracker emissions due to Diwali could further add to the pollution load.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between zero and 50 is classified as 'good', 51 and 100 as 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 as 'moderate', 201 and 300 as 'poor', 301 and 400 as 'very poor', and 401 and 500 as 'severe'.