POLLUTION LOOMS OVER NEW DELHI; CITIZENS PROTEST

As thick smog crept over India’s capital this past week and smudged landmarks from view, Nikunj Pandey could feel his eyes and throat burning. Pandey stopped doing his regular workouts and said he felt tightness in his lungs. He started wearing a triple layer of pollution masks over his mouth. And he became angry that he couldn’t safely breathe the air. “This is a basic right,” he said. “A basic right of humanity.” Pandey is among many people in New Delhi who have become more aware of the toxic air in recent years and are increasingly frustrated at the lack of meaningful action by authorities. This past week the air was the worst it’s been all year in the capital, with microscopic particles that can affect breathing and health spiking to 75 times the level considered safe by the WHO. /