Parents angry as authorities reopen schools in Delhi despite smog
New Delhi, India - Angry parents accused Delhi authorities on Monday of ‘ playing with children’s health’ as schools reopened despite a fresh surge in pollution to emergency levels.
Doctors declared a public health emergency last week when choking smog descended on the capital and elsewhere in northern India, prompting authorities to close schools, ban construction and bar trucks from entering the city. On Monday authorities reopened schools amid concerns over upcoming exams, angering some parents.
“There has been no let-up in the pollution levels. So if the situation is the same, action should be the same. Why open the schools now?” said Ashok Agrawal, president of the All India Parents Association.
“On one hand the government is saying there is a health emergency and on the other they are playing with children’s health.”
“It is so disturbing to see chil- dren coughing and struggling to breathe all the way to the school.”
On Monday levels of PM2.5 topped 500. The smallest and most dangerous particulates penetrate deep into the lungs, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The World Health Organization says 25 is the most anyone can safely be exposed to over a 24-hour period, and levels over 300 are considered hazardous.
Doctors say children are particularly vulnerable to air pollu- tion and this can cause long-term damage to their lungs.
One 2015 study found that four in ten Delhi children were suffering from severe lung problems. “It is a fact that children are particularly vulnerable and more affected by pollution than adults,” said Ajay Lekhi, doctor and president of the Delhi Medical Association.
“They breathe more air per pound of body weight, so their exposure to air pollution is much greater,” he said.
A report in the Lancet medical journal said pollution had claimed as many as 2.5mn lives in India in 2015, the highest in the world. Large swathes of north India and Pakistan see a surge in pollution at the onset of winter, when farmers burn crop stubble following the harvest.