Fine particulate levels far above the limit values. The blanket of smog over New Delhi has forced authorities to close schools, cancel flights and postpone the half-marathon scheduled for mid-month.
A dense blanket of smog covers the streets of New Delhi, making the air unbreathable. Fine particulate levels have reached values far above those considered dangerous to health in various parts of the city, in some cases exceeding the upper limit that monitoring instruments can read (999 µg/m3).
Atmospheric pollution has been affecting the Indian city since last week, and the local authorities' measures to halt construction work and take the most polluting heavy vehicles off the road have proved ineffective. Aided by low temperatures and the absence of meteorological events such as wind and rain, the toxic cloud has worsened day by day.
The main causes are thought to be the extremely high number of vehicles on the city's roads: at least 10 million vehicles are registered, not counting motorcycles and scooters. The presence of coal-fired power stations and fires in neighbouring countries only serves to exacerbate the problem.
For this reason, local authorities have decided to close the city's 30,000 schools, at least until next week, while reduced visibility has led to the cancellation or diversion of many flights to other airports and the suspension of many train services. The Indian Medical Association has declared the situation a clear public health emergency, going so far as to request the postponement of the half-marathon scheduled for 19 November.
Doctors are of course recording an exponential rise in hospital admissions and respiratory problems linked to air that the city's governor, Arvind Kejriwal, himself described as a "gas chamber." According to a research group at Berkeley University, the levels recorded in the Indian capital are equivalent to smoking more than 40 cigarettes a day.
According to the latest report on air quality drawn up by the European Environment Agency, at least 487,600 deaths are linked to the poor air quality in some European urban centres. At least 428,000 deaths are attributed to PM2.5, while nitrogen dioxide and ozone contribute to 78,000 fatalities. "Fine particulate matter continues to cause the deaths of more than 400,000 Europeans every year," the EEA stated, while Hans Bruyninckx, the agency's director, added that "at a societal level, we cannot accept the cost of air pollution."
