In its worst spell of persistent pollution in nearly two decades, the Capital’s air quality slipped into the ‘hazardous’ level on Saturday with low wind speed and high moisture content ensuring that the city remained engulfed in smog and suffered poor visibility throughout the day.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the high level of smog had turned Delhi into a ‘gas chamber’ and blamed the stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana for the problem. Mr. Kejriwal said the Centre needed to intervene to mitigate the alarming levels of smog in the city.
Perhaps for the first time, the three municipal corporations of Delhi closed schools under their jurisdiction, numbering around 1,700, due to the high level of pollution.
“It is a state of emergency. It is callous and irresponsible on the part of the Delhi government, which hasn’t told its people that the air quality is so bad that they should not step outside to exercise or allow their children to play. Emergency measures have to be put in place. The city has to be shut down, institutions and polluting industries within the city should be closed down. Nobody is telling Delhiites just how alarming the situation is,’’ said Chandra Bhushan of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
He added that the city had registered shockingly high levels of particulate (PM10 is in the range of 900-1700 microgram per cubic metre: standard level is 100) and benzene (cancer causing agent) across the city.
‘Remain indoors’Anumita Roychowdhury of CSE said: “Given that severe smog has been persisting for so long, there is a demand for emergency response and need for aggressive action.’’
Doctors have cautioned that the particle matter can cause respiratory diseases if one is subjected to prolonged exposure to unsafe levels. The pollution monitoring agency has advised people to avoid outdoor physical activity when air quality is rated “severe.” People with heart or lung diseases, older adults, and children have been advised to remain indoors and keep activity levels low.
