Millions of masks are given to children as smog chokes New Delhi
An expert panel in India’s capital have declared a health emergency yesterday with air pollution choking the city, as authorities ordered schools closed until at least Tuesday.
Thesupremecourt-appointed panel is also temporarily banning construction activity in the New Delhi region to control the dust in the air.
Air pollution in New Delhi generally peaks around 1 November due to a combination of smog from fireworks set of during a Hindu festival and smoke from the burning of agricultural fields in the neighbouring states.
The air quality index reading at the US Embassy in New Delhi for pollution particles in the air reached nine times the recommended WHO level yesterday.
At such levels people are advised to avoid all outdoor exertion due to the health risks. New Delhi’s top elected official Arvind Kejriwal has already announced a plan to restrict the movement of private cars in the capital for nearly two weeks starting from Monday.
Private cars running on petrol and diesel will be allowed in New Delhi only on alternate days from 4 to 15 November depending on whether they have even or odd numbered plates.
Mr Kejriwal said similar restrictions in 2016 reduced air pollution up to 13 per cent.
He yesterday distributed free masks to groups of young children in the Indian capital.
Last month Mr Kejriwal announced plans to sweep roads mechanically, plant trees and control pollution at 12 hot-spots in the city.
India is home to many of the world’s most polluted cities.
Five million masks have been distributed at schools in New
Delhi as air quality deteriorated to “severe” levels.
The masks are being handed out to students and their parents.
Mr Kejriwal has urged people to use them as much as possible.
The levels of tiny particulate matter, known as PM2.5, that enter deep into the lungs are 533 micrograms per cubic metre in the city. The WHO recommends the PM2.5 levels should not be more than 25 micrograms per cubic metre on average across a period of 24 hours.
The burning from farming that has contributed to the pollution is so widespread it even shows up in satellite photos taken by Nasa.
More than two million farmers burn 23 million tonnes of crop residue on about 80,000sqkm of farmland in northern India every winter.