The Indian government has banned non-essential construction in the world's most polluted capital, New Delhi, and ordered residents to combat deteriorating air quality that is disrupting airline operations and obscuring the Taj Mahal. He urged people to avoid burning coal for heating.
The new measures, which include spraying roads with water containing dust suppressants and mechanical cleaning to help settle dust, will come into force from Friday morning.
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Delhi Chief Minister Atishi (only given by one name) also directed all primary schools to move to online classes.
The measures also include a ban on non-essential construction, a call for people to increase their use of public transport and avoid using coal and wood for heating, the government announced on Thursday. It has not been made clear how long the measures will be in place.
Air quality in northern India has worsened over the past week, with toxic smog leaving the Taj Mahal, India's famous monument of love, about 220 kilometers (136 miles) from New Delhi, and the Sikh temple Amritsar's Golden Temple, the holiest temple, is no longer visible.
Traffic on the road as smog fills the sky after Delhi's air quality was classified as 'hazardous' amid severe air pollution in New Delhi, India, November 14, 2024. (Reuters/Anushree Fadnavis)
According to a live ranking maintained by Swiss group IQAir, New Delhi's air quality level is 424, the worst among the world's capitals.
Every winter, the city battles smog, a toxic mix of smoke and fog, as cold air traps dust, exhaust fumes and smoke from illegal farm fires.
About 38% of New Delhi's pollution this year has been caused by stubble burning in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana, where stubble left after the rice harvest is burned to clear fields.
Delhi flights are facing delays, with tracking website Flightradar24 showing 88% of departures and 54% of arrivals delayed as of Thursday afternoon due to smog. .
allergies, cough, asthma
Authorities say the smog is caused by high pollution, as well as humidity, calming winds and falling temperatures.The smog reduced visibility to 300 meters (980 feet) at the city's international airport on Wednesday. The flight was diverted in zero visibility.
More patients, especially children, flocked to the hospital.
“We are seeing a sharp rise in the number of children suffering from allergies, coughs and colds, and acute asthma attacks are also on the rise,” Sahab Ram, a pediatrician in Punjab's Fazilka district, told news agency ANI.
The minimum temperature in Delhi on Thursday fell to 16.1°C (61°F) from 17°C (63°F) the previous day, meteorological officials said.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences said New Delhi's pollution situation on Friday is likely to remain in the “severe” category, but later improve to “very poor”, or an index score of 300 to 400.
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The number of farm fires to clear fields in northern India rose steadily this week, from 1,200 on Monday to nearly 2,300 on Wednesday, the ministry's website said.
Lahore, the capital of Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, was on Thursday ranked as the world's most polluted city by IQAir. Local authorities continue to battle dangerous air quality this month.
