New Delhi faces intractable pollution
Anger, concern rise as residents continue to suffer effects of foul air
NEW DELHI — 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 World Health Organization. Experts have compared breathing the air to smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes a day. “This is truly a health emergency,” said Anumita Roychowdhury, the executive director of research and advocacy at New Delhi’s Centre for Science and Environment.
Authorities have been taking extraordinary measures to try to mitigate the immediate crisis. They have temporarily closed schools and stopped most trucks from entering the city, and rationing car usage has been considered.But everyone agrees such measures don’t address the root causes, which remain hard to solve.
Roychowdhury said she is encouraged there is rising awareness of the air quality problem, but she says authorities need to do more.
“What we are saying ... is that there should be a comprehensive plan for all sources of pollution,” she said.