Heavy smog and unhealthy air are choking Delhi and northern India as winter approaches. The situation is expected to worsen with the upcoming Diwali festival, which traditionally involves extensive fireworks displays. Authorities have already imposed strict measures to protect residents. The Indian government has ordered online schooling in New Delhi and surrounding schools and urged people to work from home where possible. The restrictions were announced before the Sunday Diwali celebrations, which are usually marked by widespread use of fireworks that are likely to further degrade the already critical air quality. According to data from the Swiss air‑quality monitoring platform IQAir, Delhi was the world’s most polluted city on Friday morning. The American Air Quality Index (AQI) measured a value of 581, more than twice the second‑worst reading, 285, recorded in Lahore, Pakistan. (IQAir’s value, calculated from pollutant concentrations, is not directly comparable to India’s official index, which uses a different scale and methodology.) India’s Central Pollution Control Board reported an AQI of 363 at 10 a.m. in Delhi, placing the capital’s air in the “very bad” category. Local media, citing the official data, noted that for the first time in eight years the air quality had not reached such a level before the Diwali festival that opens the autumn festive season. In northern India, severe air pollution is a recurring problem that returns each year with the onset of winter. Cold, stagnant air traps vehicle exhaust, construction dust, and thick smoke from traditional autumn burning of plant waste on agricultural land, creating a dense pollution layer close to the surface, Reuters reported.
Article source: Magyar Hirlap | Image credit: Magyar Hirlap