I am not a terribly romantic person, but on my bucket list of things to do before I die is to see the Taj Mahal. And if I can be quite honest, I have a secret fantasy that when I do see it, the man I’m with will propose to me. This is all true.

So, imagine my horror when I found out that one of the most beautiful and romantic monuments in the world, is turning yellow because of air and water pollution!

A new survey, commissioned by India’s Ministry of Environment, found that the pollution levels in the city of Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, have risen as a result of petrol fumes, traffic and increased population. The pollution has elevated to a point where emissions of nitrogen oxide have reached higher levels than those taken twelve years ago… yikes!

Measures were previously launched in 1998 to prevent further pollution damage (as the facade was already tingeing yellow), and received global attention when then-president Bill Clinton stated that pollution had done “what 350 years of wars, invasions and natural disasters have failed to do begun to mar the magnificent walls of the Taj Mahal.”

As a result vehicles were banned from the area surrounding the building, an LED display was installed to give a running count of air pollution, and diesel-run rickshaws were replaced with greener vehicles.

But despite all this, the problem persists for several reasons. The increased population has led to more cars on the road which means more traffic and fuels being consumed. More people means more of a need for water, and as the water table has dropped in the river—which runs next to the monument— the wood foundations have lost the moisture needed to avoid subsidence. And the water that is available has become contaminated with runoff from nearby factories and human waste. Illegal building and lack of regulation in Agra have had a negative impact as well.

The Taj Mahal was built by the emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial and mausoleum for his third wife, who died having the couple’s 14th child. His love for her was to be reflected in the building itself, and it has become a beacon of romance around the world.

A clay pack treatment has been introduced to try and maintain the white appearance of the marble building and thwart any yellow color the pollution threatens to cause. However, with this new report it seems only a matter of time before the emperor’s sparkling white tribute turns into something else entirely. So sad.