India’s capital introduces tougher anti-pollution measures as toxic smog shrouds Taj Mahal
India’s government has banned non-essential construction in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, and urged residents to avoid burning coal to keep warm, to combat crippling air quality that has disrupted air travel and obscured the Taj Mahal.
The new measures, which include spraying water with dust suppressants on the streets, and mechanical sweeping to help eliminate dust, will come into effect from Friday morning.
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Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who uses only one name, also ordered all primary schools to switch to online classes.
They include a ban on non-essential construction and urging citizens to use more public transport and avoid using coal and wood for heating, a government release said on Thursday, without saying how long the measures would last.
Air quality in Northern India has dropped over the past week, with toxic smoke obscuring India’s most famous monument, the Taj Mahal, about 220 kilometers (136 miles) from New Delhi, and Sikhism’s holiest site, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Traffic moves through a road as the sky is covered in smog after Delhi’s air quality was described as “hazardous” amid heavy air pollution, in New Delhi, India, November 14, 2024. (REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis)
New Delhi has a strong air quality rating of 424, according to the live standards maintained by the Swiss group IQAir, the worst among the world’s capitals.
The city battles smog — a toxic mixture of smoke and smog — every winter as cold air traps dust, gas emissions, and smoke from illegal fires.
About 38% of pollution in New Delhi this year is caused by stubble burning – a practice where stubble left over after the rice harvest is burned to clear fields – in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.
Flights from Delhi faced delays, with tracking website Flightradar24 showing 88% of departures and 54% of arrivals delayed as of Thursday afternoon due to the smog.
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Officials blamed high pollution, combined with humidity, quiet air and a drop in temperature for the smog, which reduced visibility to 300m (980 ft) at the city’s international airport, diverting flights out of sight on Wednesday.
Many patients rushed to hospitals, especially children.
“There has been a sudden increase in children with allergies, coughs and colds… and an increase in asthma attacks,” Sahab Ram, a pediatrician in Punjab’s Fazilka district, told ANI media.
Delhi’s minimum temperature dropped to 16.1 degrees Celsius (61°F) on Thursday from 17 degrees C (63 degrees F) the previous day, weather officials said.
Pollution in New Delhi is likely to remain in the “severe” category on Friday, the Ministry of Earth Sciences said, before improving to “very bad”, or 300 to 400 points.
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The number of farm fires to clear fields in northern India rose slightly this week to about 2,300 on Wednesday from 1,200 on Monday, the ministry’s website said.
Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab, was ranked as the world’s most polluted city on Thursday, according to IQAir ratings. The local authorities have also been battling dangerous winds this month.
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