Delhi Air Quality Index Hits 1,000 For Days On End; Residents Report Nausea, Lethargy From Breathing
India’s capital, Delhi, and several surrounding states have shut schools, imposed work-from-home orders and a full weekend lockdown of the city is being contemplated in an attempt to tackle the deadly levels of pollution that have yet again enveloped the region. Over the past weeks, in what has become a dreaded seasonal occurrence, Delhi has suffered pollution levels 20 times higher than the levels deemed healthy by the World Health Organization and a thick brown smog settled over the city.
The causes of the severe pollution that have made Delhi the most polluted capital in the world are a combination of factors including car exhaust fumes, stubble-burning by farmers in nearby states, industrial pollution, waste burning and construction work. The drop in temperature, change in air pressure and the lack of wind as winter arrives then causes the pollution to become trapped over the city like a toxic umbrella.
Delhi was given a brief reprieve last November as Covid-19 reduced industrial activity and cars on the roads, but pollution has returned to the same deadly levels as before and on several days even hit a rating of 1,000 AQI in some areas – the highest the charts can measure. People going outside have complained of stinging eyes, nausea, breathing difficulties and lethargy caused by the toxic air and doctors reported a sharp rise in admissions related to respiratory and cardiac problems.
The school closures in the capital, which came only weeks after they reopened following 18 months of being closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, were joined by measures including a halt to construction work and drivers of Delhi’s 13m cars being asked to turn off their engines when stationary at traffic lights.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/16/soaring-pollution-has-delhi-considering-full-weekend-lockdown