India, Jan. 24 -- As buildings touch the skies, apartment sizes shrink, and towers get packed so tightly that a neighbour just a few feet away can peer straight into your living room, the once-simple pleasure of stepping out for a quiet cup of tea on the balcony is steadily losing its charm. Worsening air quality, particularly in NCR and Mumbai, along with perennial mosquito problems, are making balcony living far less appealing. For most urban residents, what was once a desirable feature is fast fading into memory.

A clear trend emerging across cities such as Bengaluru and the NCR is that balconies are shrinking in size, vanishing from mid-segment homes, and increasingly being reserved for high-end developments. Experts say this shift r...