Before you start

Employer group medical cover, or a private policy
Vaccinations appropriate to India
Air purifiers for the rooms you sleep and work in
A local doctor and hospital identified before you need one

Step-by-step

1
Buy proper air purifiers before your first winter
Get HEPA units rated for the actual room size, for at least the bedroom and your workspace, and keep the windows closed through the severe season. Buy spare filters — they clog far faster here than the manufacturer's schedule assumes. This is the single highest-return health purchase you will make in Delhi.
OnlineWho: YouBefore October
2
Get N95-grade masks and use them outdoors in winter
Cloth and surgical masks do nothing for the fine particulates that matter. Properly fitted N95 or FFP2 masks do. Wearing one outdoors on a severe day is normal here, not eccentric.
In personWho: You
3
Confirm what your employer's group cover actually includes
Check room-rent limits, per-condition sub-limits, maternity cover and whether dependants are included. Consider a top-up policy if the sum insured is low for a private hospital admission.
Via employerWho: YouFirst month
4
Get vaccinated before you arrive
Typhoid and hepatitis A are the baseline; hepatitis B, rabies pre-exposure and Japanese encephalitis depend on circumstances. Some courses need weeks, so start at home.
In personWho: You
5
Identify your hospital in week one
Delhi's private hospitals — AIIMS for public tertiary care, plus Apollo, Max, Fortis and Medanta in Gurgaon — are excellent. Know which is nearest, which has a cashless arrangement with your insurer, and how long it takes at peak traffic.
In personWho: YouWeek 1
6
Check the AQI daily from October and plan around it
Treat it as you would a weather forecast. On severe days, move exercise indoors, keep children inside, and run the purifiers continuously. Long-term residents structure their winter around this and so should you.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Insurance policy documents and cashless card
Vaccination records
Prescriptions, with generic names rather than brand names
Passport, required at hospital admission

Things most newcomers don’t know

The winter air is the single biggest health variable in this city.

Delhi's Air Quality Index routinely reaches 'very poor' and 'severe' categories from late October to January, driven by a combination of crop residue burning, vehicle emissions, industry and winter temperature inversion. Research consistently associates sustained exposure at these levels with reduced life expectancy. This deserves an explicit decision before you accept a posting, particularly with children.

Source: Central Pollution Control Board

Filters clog far faster than the manual says.

Purifier manufacturers specify filter life against ordinary ambient conditions. In a Delhi winter, HEPA filters saturate in a fraction of that time, and a saturated filter does very little. Buy spares, track actual usage rather than the schedule, and replace them early — otherwise you have the reassurance of a running machine without the protection.

Source: community-reported

Room-rent sub-limits break Indian health policies more than anything else.

Many group policies cap the daily room rent payable, and taking a room above the cap causes the insurer to proportionately reduce every other charge in the bill — surgeon's fees, tests, everything. A low room-rent limit can leave you paying a large share of a claim you believed covered.

Source: community-reported

Roadside exposure is much worse than ambient readings.

The AQI figure is an area measurement; concentrations in traffic are considerably higher. Commuting by car or auto through a Delhi winter is materially worse for you than the same day spent indoors or on the Metro. It is a strong argument for living within walking distance of a station.

Source: Central Pollution Control Board

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving in October without air purifiers already bought and installed.
Using cloth or surgical masks, which do not filter fine particulates.
Running purifiers on saturated filters and assuming you are protected.
Not reading the room-rent sub-limit in an employer group policy.
Exercising outdoors in December because the temperature is pleasant — the air is not.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.