A member of the South African traveling party sleeping in his Delhi hotel room late one night during a men's Test series in India in November and December 2015 was awoken by an alarming rasping noise.

Had some sort of insect crept in? Had an appliance gone on the fritz? Were tree branches being blown against the window? None of the above.

It took several anxious minutes before he realized what the source was: his own breathing. But not like he had ever heard it. An unnatural dry, laboured, scraping sound seemed to fill the dark room.

He discovered the reason why in the lobby the next morning. Some of the air pollution that makes Delhi one of the most dangerous places on earth in which to draw breath in November and December every year had seeped into the hotel. The visible part of it lurked malevolently just below the ceiling.

Even so, the South African persisted with his plan of going for a run. India Gate was nearby, which seemed the perfect option. He ventured in that direction, but despite his phone telling him the 42-metre tall monument was 200 metres away he could see nothing but sludgy, soupy air all around.

India Gate was indeed where the map said it was, and he was lucky enough to witness the changing of the guard. But he had to get to within 50 metres of the mighty stone arch to be able to take in the scene properly. All the while, he could taste sooty sourness.

South Africa will be back in Delhi in November to play a Test. And the air will likely be filthy again. Because factories never stop belching smoke, because there are too many gassy cars and trucks worldwide transforming our roads into traffic sewers, because Diwali and its frenzy of fireworks will not be long past, because that's the time of year farmers clear their fields by burning the stubble that remains after the harvest, because there isn't much wind in Delhi in November and December to blow all that stuff somewhere else.