New Delhi ordered the closure of schools from Friday due to rising air pollution in recent days, which has shrouded India’s capital and northern regions in a blanket of toxic smog.
“Given the rising pollution levels, all primary schools, both public and private, in Delhi will remain closed for the next two days.” declared the head of the capital’s government, Arvind Kejriwal, on the social network X.
In view of rising pollution, all government and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next two days
– Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 2, 2023
The measure comes in addition to restrictions announced by the city government in recent days, including a ban on non-essential construction activities and the entry of diesel trucks, as part of a roadmap that calls for more restrictive measures to tackle the increase in pollution.
Concentrations of PM 2.5 particles, the most harmful to humans, reached 375 micrograms per cubic meter of air in the eastern Anand Vihar district, with concentrations of these fine particles at 478 in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in the south, according to measurements from the Central Pollution Control Bureau (CPCB).
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers a maximum daily exposure to PM 2.5 greater than 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air to be dangerous. That is why the capital’s toxic air is currently being compared in the ‘media’ to that of a gas chamber or the equivalent of smoking a handful of cigarettes a day.
New Delhi was ranked as the city with the worst air quality in the world, according to a list compiled by IQAir.
This deterioration is also affecting much of northern India, robbing the country’s residents of an average of five years of life expectancy, according to the latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) study from the University of Chicago, US.
The alarming deterioration in air quality in New Delhi inevitably occurs at this time of year, when several factors coincide, such as the onset of winter and the decrease in winds that prevent the dispersion of pollutants.
Rice stubble burning in the states surrounding the capital is also contributing to the spike in pollution, while experts point to authorities’ inaction in solving the problem at its root.
Source: DN
