India's Capital Tops In World's Most Polluted City List Yet Again
On Friday, New Delhi, the capital of India, was enveloped in a dense layer of toxic haze, which led to the closure of some schools as the air quality index (AQI) dropped to the "severe" category.
According to Swiss group IQAir, New Delhi ranked first on the real-time list of the world's most polluted cities, with an AQI of 640 in the "hazardous" category on Friday. Lahore, a city in Pakistan, followed with an AQI of 335.
Local officials credit the poor air quality to a combination of factors such as lower temperatures, no wind and burning of crop stubble in neighbouring farm states.
The air quality in New Delhi has deteriorated to a great extent, causing discomfort to many of its residents. It has been reported that the air has turned a dense grey and the AQI has reached around 480 in some monitoring stations.
This has resulted in people experiencing irritation in their eyes and itchy throats. An AQI in the range of 0-50 is considered good, but when it reaches 400-500, it can be harmful to healthy people and poses a danger to those with existing illnesses.
Few people were out jogging at the usual spots for the purpose such as Lodhi Garden and India Gate.
The residents are quickly purchasing air purifiers and a service centre for the appliances has said that there is a dearth of new filters and that fresh stocks could be expected on Monday.
According to officials, the air quality has not improved immediately. Ashwani Kumar, the chairman of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, stated that this pollution level is going to remain for the next two to three weeks.
The situation is worsened by incidents of stubble burning, slow wind speed, and cooling temperatures. Farmers in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh traditionally burn crop waste after harvesting in October to clear their fields before sowing winter crops a few weeks later.
The cricket World Cup hosted by India has been affected by the worsening air quality. The pollution levels are also spiking in Mumbai, the financial capital. On Monday, Delhi is hosting a World Cup match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The concentration of toxic PM2.5 particles, which are less than 2.5 microns in diameter and can cause deadly illness, was 53.4 times the World Health Organization's annual air quality guideline value in New Delhi on Friday, according to IQAir.
Junior schools in the capital were ordered to shut down on Friday and Saturday, but they remained open in the suburbs. Children were forced to wear masks while going out to school after a long time post the COVID-19 pandemic. Poor air quality is also causing respiratory problems, irritation in the eyes, and restlessness in pet animals.
