NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Portal) – Delhi’s 20 million residents were effectively inhaling smoke on Thursday as the Air Quality Index (AQI) broke the ‘severe’ and ‘hazardous’ categories at almost all monitoring stations in the Indian capital, leading to Calls led schools to close.
According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board, the AQI exceeded 450 in many places early in the day. A reading above 400 affects healthy people, with serious implications for those with existing illnesses, the federal government says.
The index was above 800 in some parts of the city, according to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
“What is happening to air pollution in Delhi is nothing short of a crime against humanity!” wrote author and socialite Suhel Seth on Twitter. “There is a total breakdown of accountability!”
The world’s most polluted capital is shrouded in smog every winter when cold, heavy air collects construction dust, vehicle exhaust and smoke from burning crop stalls in neighboring states to clear fields for the next harvest.
[1/3] A couple poses during a pre-wedding photo on the banks of the Yamuna river on a smoggy morning in the old quarters of Delhi, India, November 2, 2022. Portal/Adnan Abidi/File Photo
Lower temperatures, weaker winds and their changing direction worsen the air quality from time to time.
Parents and environmentalists took to social media to call for schools to be closed.
“I know kids don’t vote for you but I still call on all chief ministers of Delhi (Capital Region) to close all schools immediately,” environmental activist Vimlendu Jha wrote on Twitter. “It’s not NORMAL to breathe 500+ AQI, not for our kids where 1 in 3 kids already have a pulmonary challenge.”
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose party also governs Punjab, where crop burning is rampant, said on Twitter that “the people of Punjab and Delhi are taking every step at their level” to tackle pollution.
The capital halted most construction and demolition work this week to curb dust pollution and appealed to residents to share car and motorbike trips, work from home if possible and reduce consumption of coal and firewood at home.
Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Adaptation by William Mallard
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