- The government imposes a ban on non-essential construction
- He urged citizens to avoid burning coal for heating.
- Delhi Chief Minister directs primary schools to shift to online classes.
The Indian government has banned non-essential construction in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, and urged residents to avoid burning coal for heat, to combat deteriorating air quality that has disrupted flights and obscured the Taj Mahal.
The new measures, which include spraying water with dust suppressants on roads, as well as robotic sweeping that will help settle dust, will come into effect from Friday morning.
Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who uses only one name, also directed all primary schools to shift to online classes.
A government statement on Thursday said that these measures also include banning non-essential construction and urging citizens to use more public transportation and avoid using coal and firewood for heating, without specifying how long the measures will last.
Air quality has deteriorated in northern India over the past week, with toxic smog obscuring India’s famous love landmark, the Taj Mahal, about 220 kilometers (136 miles) from New Delhi, as well as Sikhism’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
New Delhi is witnessing a severe air quality level of 424, according to live ratings maintained by the Swiss group IQAir, which is the worst among global capitals.
The city battles smog — a toxic mix of smoke and fog — every winter, as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from illegal farm fires.
About 38% of pollution in New Delhi this year was caused by stubble burning — a practice in which tree remains are burned after paddy harvest to clear fields — in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.
Delhi flights faced delays, with tracking website Flightradar24 showing that 88% of departures and 54% of arrivals were delayed as of Thursday afternoon due to smog.
Allergies, cough, asthma
Officials blamed high pollution, along with humidity, calm winds and low temperatures, for smog that reduced visibility to 300 meters (980 feet) at the city’s international airport, diverting flights to zero visibility on Wednesday.
More patients flocked to hospitals, especially children.
“There is a sudden increase in the number of children suffering from allergies, coughs and colds… and a rise in severe asthma attacks,” Sahab Ram, a pediatrician in Punjab’s Fazilka district, told a news agency. Years.
Meteorological officials said the minimum temperature in Delhi fell to 16.1 degrees Celsius (61 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday from 17 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit) the previous day.
Pollution in New Delhi is likely to remain in the “severe” category on Friday before improving to “very weak” or an index score of between 300 and 400, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said.
The number of farm fires to clear fields in northern India rose steadily this week to nearly 2,300 on Wednesday from 1,200 on Monday, the ministry’s website showed.
Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, was ranked as the most polluted city in the world on Thursday, according to IQAir rankings. Authorities there also faced dangerous air this month.