Indian capital choked by smog

NEW DELHI - A thick cloud of toxic smog 10 times the recommended limit enveloped India’s capital New Delhi yesterday, as government officials struggled to tackle a public health crisis that is well into its second week.

A U.S. embassy measure showed levels of poisonous airborne particles, known as PM 2.5, had reached 495 in the morning, compared with the upper limit of “good” quality air at 50.

India’s weather office said forecast rain over the next three days could help clear the smog.

The Delhi state government declared a public health emergency last week after pollution levels in the city spiked, a yearly phenomenon blamed on a combination of illegal crop burning in northern states, vehicle exhausts and dust.

Over the weekend, the government said it planned to use fire trucks to spray water in parts of the capital, but the moves have had little effect. A senior federal government official said there was little more the government could do.

“We can only do this much, and now we will have to wait for rains to clean the atmosphere,” said Prashant Gargava, an official at the Central Pollution Control Board, a federal body.