Delhi
The smog season begins with an air quality index near the worst possible reading of 500 and little visible progress in combating the annual poisonous blight
Air quality in Delhi reached extreme levels on Friday and thick toxic smog enveloped the city, marking the start of a pollution season that has become an annual disaster for India’s capital.
Schools were closed and non-essential construction was banned around Delhi as the city’s air quality index reached nearly 500 – the highest the measurement will reach and 100 times the World Health Organization’s healthy limit.
“In Delhi I can see the climate catastrophe unfolding before my eyes”
Air quality in the city had deteriorated over the past week, due to a sharp rise in the number of farmers in neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab burning their fields during the harvest season. Added to this were winds that carried pollutants to Delhi and falling temperatures that trapped particles.
On Sunday, the state of Punjab recorded a 740% increase in farm fires, with more than a thousand recorded in a single day. Other causes of pollution in the city include car exhaust fumes, construction work and waste incineration in waste incineration plants.
Delhi, home to about 33 million people, is regularly ranked as the most polluted city in the world. According to this year’s Air Quality Life Index compiled by the University of Chicago’s Institute for Energy Policy, people in Delhi could see their lives shortened by 11.9 years because of the poor air they breathe.
Doctors in Delhi said they have begun to realize the harmful effects of pollution on the city’s residents. “The number of patients with respiratory problems has increased and more people are suffering from coughs, colds, watery and irritated eyes and breathing problems. This affects people of all ages. It is time we wear masks and go out only when necessary,” said Nikhil Modi, a doctor at Apollo Hospital in Delhi.
A man walks on the lawn of Kartavya Path near India Gate in New Delhi. Photo: Kabir Jhangiani/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Pollution levels in Delhi in October were the highest since 2020, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.
Although the Aam Admi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government insists it has a pollution action plan, there appears to be little impact on the sharp drop in air quality that plagues life every year, usually between November of Delhi residents affected and January.
Methods used by the AAP government to combat pollution included spraying water on roads to reduce dust and building two 80-foot-tall “smog towers” costing more than $2 million each and the Considered to purify air, but were considered by scientists to be largely ineffective.
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