New Delhi gasps under choking smog
NEW DELHI: India’s capital New Delhi was enveloped in heavy, toxic smog yesterday - the worst levels in recent years with flights diverted or delayed as politicians blamed each other for failing to tackle the crisis. Every winter, the megacity of 20 million people is blanketed by a poisonous smog of car fumes, industrial emissions and smoke from stubble burning at farms in neighboring states.
Concentrations of particles measuring less than 2.5 microns hit the highest level of this season, exacerbated by light rains late Saturday, India’s state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and
Research (SAFAR) said. The reading for pollutants in the atmosphere hit 810 micrograms per cubic meter yesterday morning, beyond the “hazardous” zone according to the US embassy in Delhi, which independently monitors pollution levels. The recommended World Health Organization safe daily maximum is 25.
“Pollution has reached unbearable levels,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted yesterday. Visibility was so poor that major carriers Air India and Vistara said yesterday flights were being delayed or diverted to and from Delhi’s airports. Some cricket players and coaches have also been training in masks ahead of the Twenty20 international between Bangladesh and India later yesterday.
“It’s actually scary - you can’t see things in front of you,” protester Jaivipra told AFP at a rally in Delhi yesterday calling for politicians to do more to curb pollution.
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