New Delhi, Nov 19 (EFE).- New Delhi was the most polluted city in the world for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, wrapped in a dense and toxic smog – mixture of fog and pollution – raising air pollution to levels over 60 times considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO).
New Delhi and its surroundings remained covered by dense fog with an air quality index (AQI) reaching around 500 in several parts of the city, according to the System of Air quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).
Pollution levels in New Delhi have been on the rise in recent weeks and the “severe plus” category on Monday, prompting the government to take drastic measures, such as school closures, recommendations for work from home, restrictions on the movement of vehicles and limitations on construction activities.
The air pollution reached an “emergency” on Monday when the city’s average AQI crossed the 400 barrier for the first time this season. Some independent air quality monitors recorded even higher readings, with peaks of over 1,000.
According to the Indian air quality monitoring platform, AQI.in, the situation was so bad on Monday that breathing in the outdoor air was as harmful as smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day.
An analysis carried out Tuesday by this platform indicated that the air indoors was even more toxic than outdoors for those who do not have air purification machines.
According to IQAir, a Swiss platform specialized in air quality measurement, the concentration of PM2.5 – particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns and extremely harmful to health – was 66 times above the WHO’s annual recommended value.
Authorities estimate that 38 percent of Delhi’s pollution originates from the burning of crop stubble by farmers in neighboring states. EFE
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