Residents of New Delhi, the capital of India, are struggling with smog covering the city. On Saturday, the air quality there was much worse. Local climate activists stress that the fight against pollution should not only continue during smog season.
A thick layer of smog hung over New Delhi on Saturday. In the afternoon, the air quality index according to the IQAir methodology was 225, which meant “very unhealthy” for residents. The highest value allowed by the standards of the World Health Organization is 50.
Smog appears in the New Delhi region every fall and winter. Cool, calm air then hangs over the capital, trapping debris from cars and homes, as well as dust from burning grass on nearby farms.
Smog in New Delhi Reuters
40 cigarettes at once
As residents told Reuters, the pollution has become so bad that people cannot go outside for fresh air.
“Children don't go to school and the elderly have to stay at home,” said one of them. – We feel as if we are inhaling the smoke of 40 cigarettes at once. (…) It is very difficult to leave the house, but some have no other choice and have to endure it. – he added.
As quoted by the British newspaper “The Guardian”, recent studies have shown that every year of exposure to smoke can shorten the life of an average resident of New Delhi by about 12 years. Greenpeace South Asia's Avinash Chanchal explained that treating smog as a winter-only problem doesn't help solve it.
– The data show that the city suffers from a lot of pollution almost all year round. It comes from the transportation industry and the millions of cars on the road, coal-fired power plants, waste, the constant construction of highways and crossings. Until we address all of these areas, we will never get cleaner air, he explained.
Reuters, The Guardian, tvnmeteo.pl
Main photo source: Reuters
