New Delhi pulls cars off the road as it struggles to clean air
An emergency measure banning half of New Delhi’s private vehicles from the road has been introduced to combat the city’s air pollution, which has risen to more than 20 times the safe limit.
As smog levels grew — making it three times worse than in Beijing — authorities also parked a van with an air purifier near the Taj Mahal 240km away in an attempt to clean the surrounding air.
The level of particulates measuring less than 2.5 microns was over 700 micrograms per cubic metre of air on Monday, according to the air quality index (AQI). The World Health Organisation’s safe daily maximum is just 25.
Health officials have instructed New Delhi’s 29 million residents to stay indoors, as a reading of over 500 shows there is a risk of serious aggravation of heart and lung diseases.
The BLK Hospital reported a 300 per cent increase in admissions from respiratory problems since Saturday, with children suffering particularly badly due to the toxic air. Schools are expected to stay shut until next week.
“Air pollution of such magnitude has left children gasping for breath,” said Jarnail Singh, director of the Climate Group, a climate change nongovernmental organisation.
“It causes headaches in children — which were previously unheard of — burning eyes and regular breathing discomfort.”
Arvind Kejriwal, New Delhi’s Chief Minister, highlighted the city’s plight in a tweet on Friday. He wrote: “Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to smoke from crop burning in neighbouring states,” and urged citizens to use face masks.
On Monday he introduced the policy to ban even and odd-numbered privately registered vehicles from the roads on alternate days until November 15. The move will keep an estimated 1.2 million vehicles off the road.
New Delhi has failed to control worsening levels of air pollution in recent years and was named by AQI as the most polluted capital city in the world in 2018.
AQI has estimated that New Delhi residents will have a shortened life expectancy of more than a decade due to the toxic air they breathe.
The seasonal burning of crop stubble by farmers in the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab is a major contributor to the high pollution at this time of year.
Farmers argue that burning stubble increases the fertility of their land, but it releases a toxic cocktail of particulates such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide into the air.
Vehicle and industrial emissions, as well as the large number of Diwali festival fireworks set off last week, also cause air quality to deteriorate.
The end of the monsoon rains in October means the polluted air does not clear. The Supreme Court of India on Monday ordered Kejriwal to show how the car rationing system works, describing it as a “gimmick” as it does not apply to motorbikes or taxis.
It also demanded state governments in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab eradicate stubble burning. Activists urged politicians to prioritise the threat posed by air pollution.
“The Delhi Government, neighbouring states and national Government cannot run away from their duties and must stop passing the dice,” said
Chittranjan Dubey, head of Extinction Rebellion in South Asia.
Last year, the New Delhi Government ordered firefighters to sprinkle water from high-rise buildings to settle dust, stopped garbage fires and ordered builders to cover construction sites to stop dust enveloping the area as hazardous air quality affected millions of people. World Health Organisation data released last year gave India the dubious distinction of having the world's 10 most polluted cities.