New Delhi’s smog raises health alarm; schools ordered closed

NEW DELHI — A thick gray haze enveloped India’s capital on Tuesday as air pollution hit hazardous levels, prompting local officials to ask that schools shut down and a half marathon scheduled for later this month be called off.

The readings of the government’s air quality index hovered between 350 and 450, indicating that the health effects of breathing the air were “severe.”

The highest reading on the Central Pollution Control Board’s index is 500.

As winter approaches, a thick, soupy smog routinely envelops most parts of northern India, caused by dust, the burning of crops, emissions from factories, and the burning of coal and piles of garbage as the poor try to keep warm.

As the haze settled over the city in the morning, many people covered their faces and noses with scarves to try to protect themselves. Arvind Kejriwal, the capital’s top elected official, asked the education department to consider closing schools.

The Indian Medical Association said New Delhi was in the midst of a “public health emergency” and appealed to the city government to halt sports and other outdoor activities in schools.

The association also said the Delhi Half Marathon, scheduled for Nov. 19, was likely to leave those participating especially badly hit because the air quality is worst early in the day, when the run is to take place.

Kejriwal said on Twitter on Tuesday that his government had written to ministers in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana demanding an end to crop burning there, but that little had been done.