New Delhi — Authorities in India’s sprawling capital imposed even stricter emergency measures Monday in a bid to prevent disease as thick smog blanketed New Delhi. Air pollution was even worse, and considerably greater, than last weekwhen the annual smog first descended.
Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) – a measure of the severity of air pollution based on levels of five toxins – soared to 499 in some places on Monday morning. This meant a categorization of “severe plus” on the Indian System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) scale, and “dangerous» as part of the American AQI measurement system.
The thick smog never cleared Monday, even as night fell. Dozens of flights and trains were disrupted as visibility remained low throughout the capital.
The Air Quality Management Commission of India on Monday announced that it has implemented phase 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) – bringing in the most stringent emergency measures proposed to mitigate impacts and try to reduce pollution.
Phase 4 measures, which will likely remain in place until conditions improve, include:
- All trucks, except those carrying essential items, are barred from entering Delhi.
- All commercial vehicles registered outside Delhi are barred from entering the city, although there is an exception for electric vehicles and those running on cleaner fuels.
- All construction activities, including work on roads, overpasses, power lines, pipelines and other public projects, are halted.
- Schools are moving to online instruction for all students except grades 10 and 12, with all other in-person classes suspended.
- All employers, public and private, in Delhi have been advised to bring only 50% of their staff to their offices, with the rest working from home.
- Authorities may also order federal government employees to work from home.
The Indian Supreme Court intervenes
India’s Supreme Court on Monday reprimanded the Delhi government for deteriorating air quality in the capital and questioned why it waited for the AQI to cross the 300 mark before imposing emergency measures. more strict. Any AQI above 300 is in the most dangerous and dangerous level of the American scale.
“How could the government take such a risk? » asked the Supreme Court.
Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters
The court also asked the federal government to share real-time satellite data showing the impact of agricultural waste incineration with state governments, hoping to encourage action at the state level to combat this polluting practice, very common in the states neighboring Delhi.
Delhi there is a significant increase in air pollution every winter due to several factors, including the burning of agricultural waste or “stubble” in the neighboring states of Haryana and Punjab. Fireworks and climatological factors also contribute to smog.