DELHI DECLARES POLLUTION EMERGENCY
Air quality worsens by the hour as toxic smog shrouds city for third day
NEW DELHI
THE Indian capital has declared a pollution emergency and banned the entry of trucks and construction activity as a toxic smog hung over the city for a third day yesterday and air quality worsened by the hour.
Illegal crop burning in the farm states surrounding New Delhi, vehicle exhaust emissions in a city with limited public transport and swirling construction dust have caused the crisis, which arises every year.
The problem had been compounded this year by still conditions, the weather office said.
A United States embassy measure of tiny particulate matter PM 2.5 showed a reading of 608 at 10am. An hour before, it was 591. The safe limit is 50.
PM2.5 is particulate matter about 30 times finer than a human hair. The particles can be inhaled deep into the lungs, causing heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and respiratory diseases.
Residents complained of headaches, coughs and smarting eyes. Many stayed home and
restaurants in some of the city’s most crowded parts were deserted.
“I’d like to assure people that the central government shall do everything possible to bring about improvement in air quality in Delhi and the Nation Capital Region,” federal environment minister Harsh Vardhan said as authorities faced criticism for failing to take steps to fight a problem that erupts every year.
The haze covered India Gate, a war memorial in the centre of the
city, where Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited in a two-day trip ending yesterday.
Schools have been shut for the week and on Wednesday, the city administration announced a set of measures to try to clean up the air.
Trucks have been banned from the city unless they are transporting essential commodities, construction has been stopped and parking charges raised four times to force residents to use public transport. Reuters