Air Pollution In Delhi Is Off The Charts
Posted by Toi Williams on Nov 3rd, 2019
Air pollution in New Delhi has reached levels that have gone
past “severe-plus” on the air quality index. Levels of tiny particulate matter
in the air, known as PM 2.5, reached above 900, way over the 500-level that
qualifies as the top level on the chart. An Indian health ministry official
said the city’s pollution monitors did not have enough digits to accurately
record the pollution levels.
Authorities in the capital city have declared a public
health emergency. Schools have been closed and all construction activity has
been suspended. Rules have gone into effect allowing only cars with odd or even
number plates to drive on given days. The smog was so bad more than 30 flights
were diverted from the Indira Gandhi international airport in Delhi due to poor
visibility. Two airlines, Vistara and Spicejet, diverted flights to Mumbai or
Amritsar.
The city’s residents have been advised to avoid outdoor
physical activities, wear anti-pollution masks, and keep doors and windows
closed. Doctors have been reporting a spike in patients with
respiratory-related issues. Anything above 400 on the AQI poses a risk for people
with respiratory illness, while also affecting those with healthy lungs. There
are about 40 million people living in the capital region.
The government environment monitoring agency SAFAR has said
that the seasonal crop stubble burning by farmers in the surrounding states is
a main factor in the deteriorating air quality in Delhi. The burning creates a
lethal cocktail of particulate matter, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and
sulphur dioxide. According to SAFAR, satellite pictures had captured more than
3,000 incidents of stubble burning last week in neighboring states. The burning
is believed to be responsible for 44 percent of Delhi’s pollution.