New Delhi This Monday dawned wrapped in a thick toxic fog of pollution after the Hindu festival of Diwali, a scene that has become everyday for the inhabitants of the capital, despite the restrictions of the authorities to prevent it.
Most air quality monitoring stations recorded concentrations of particles from the first hour PM 2.5., the most harmful to health, greater than 300 micrograms per cubic meter of air, according to measurements by the Central Pollution Control Bureau (CPCB).
These figures exceed by up to twenty times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which considers daily exposure of more than 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air dangerous.
The Pusa neighborhood, in the west of the capital, recorded the highest values at 9:00 a.m. (4:30 GMT), with a concentration of 386 micrograms of PM 2.5 per cubic meter of air.
According to the IQAir platform, New Delhi experienced a pollution spike last night, when residents of the capital set off thousands of firecrackers and fireworks to celebrate the religious holiday of Diwali, which marks the beginning of the Hindu new year.
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court has banned this practice that contributes to pollution for years, the small explosions were heard in the streets of the capital until late into the night, causing the air quality index (AQI) to rise. macase a value of 1.117 around midnight, con more than 600 micrograms of PM 2.5 per cubic meter of air.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency establishes that an AQI greater than 50 already begins to pose health risks.
However, firecrackers are not the only triggers of pollution, the city’s toxic air is a cocktail of vehicle emissions, construction dust, particles originating from the burning of stubble in agricultural areas and the constant burning of waste. solids of this city of more than 20 million inhabitants.
To tackle this pollution that has been affecting New Delhi for weeks, the authorities suspended non-essential construction work on November 2 andentry of diesel trucks into the capital until further notice, as part of a containment plan that foresees new measures as air quality declines.
A day later they also decreed the closure of all schools for two days, although they later extended it until November 18.
Initially, they also announced that they would limit the entry of vehicles into the capital starting this Monday, allowing only private vehicles with even or odd license plates to circulate on its streets every day, but the doubts cast by the Supreme Court about the effectiveness of This measure led the authorities to back down.
Along with these factors, the alarming deterioration of New Delhi’s air quality is also due to the arrival of winter and the reduction of winds that prevent the dispersion of polluting agents.
EFE
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