The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has said the air quality index (AQI) for Delhi on Wednesday was worse at 484. On Tuesday, it touched 448 in a scale of 500, entering the ‘severe’ category.
An order from Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's office says, ''The air pollution has become unbearable affecting all. It has engulfed the city. The reasons for this may be varied from stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab to vehicular/ construction pollution but the fact remains that it is affecting the health of Delhi’s citizens. ''
Delhi govt. ready to roll out odd-even scheme
The Delhi government is ready to roll out the odd-even scheme if air pollution levels persist in ‘severe plus’ category for 48 hours, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said, asserting two-wheelers will be exempt if the road rationing measure comes into effect.
Mr. Gahlot told PTI that he had directed the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) to hire 500 buses on a short-term basis and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been asked to procure 300 buses to handle the rush if and when odd-even scheme is launched.
The AAP government has asked Indraprastha Gas Limited to keep 1.5 lakh stickers ready for CNG-run vehicles which would also be given exemption during the odd-even scheme.
‘It’s like the killer Great Smog of London’
AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria has compared Delhi air pollution to the killer Great Smog of London of 1952. Dr. Guleria, a renowned pulmonologist, said that N95 masks and air purifiers, whose sale has increased in the last few days, may not provide full-time protection and stressed on implementation of long-term measures to tackle the crisis.
“Patients have started coming to the OPDs with complaints of breathlessness, coughing, sneezing, tightness in chest, allergy and asthma complications. There is about 20 per cent rise in patients seeking treatment due to respiratory and cardiac issues,” Dr. Guleria said adding that pollution is at such a severe level that patients with respiratory and cardiac problems may develop life-threatening conditions. “This is a silent killer,” he said.
On December 5, 1952, a thick yellow smog brought London to a standstill for four days and is estimated to have killed more than 4,000 people. Read more.
Cases with respiratory problems spike
A boy sits on the shoulder of his mother as they participate in a protest against air pollution in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. Even for a city considered one of the worlds dirtiest, the Indian capital hit a new low this week. Air so dirty you can taste and smell it; a gray haze that makes a gentle stroll a serious health hazard. According to one advocacy group, government data shows that the smog that enveloped the city midweek was the worst in the last 17 years. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
There was a spurt in fresh cases in Delhi hospitals and conditions of patients with history of asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) and cardio-vascular diseases deteriorated.
The state-run Safdarjung hospital witnessed an increase in such patients in its OPDs and casualties over the past two days, professor and head of pulmonary medicine at the hospital J.C. Suri said. He said the immediate effects are cough, throat infections and pneumonia, but in the long term the results could be disastrous as one could also develop lung cancer.
“Elderly and children are more likely to develop infections and allergies due to smog and pollution. So they should avoid going out during the early morning and at dusk hours when the toxic level is at its peak,” Dr. Suri said. “Also, when pollution levels rise, the condition of those suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or asthama or heart disease worsens,” he said.
According to Vivek Nangia, Director and HOD, Pulmonology, Fortis Flt Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, there has been a 25% increase in OPD footfall in the past 24 hours of patients with various kinds of respiratory stress.
Pile-ups on Yamuna Expressway
Several cars piled up due to fog and low visibility on the Yamuna Expressway on Wednesday morning. However, there were no casualties.
According to police, the incident took place around 8:30 am near the Eastern Peripheral Expressway overbridge leading towards Noida from Agra. Around seven cars smashed into each other.
" A car smashed into sacks placed on the roadside after which other cars smashed into it one by one. There were no casualties, " said Farmood Ali Pundir, Station House Officer of the Dankaur Police Station. Four people were injured and they were taken to a nearby hospital.
On the other side of the expressway, the road leading to Agra from Noida, five cars smashed into each other due to smog.
Mr. Sisodia says schools will be closed till this week-end and open on Monday. The order applies to all government, municipality-run and private schools functioning in the National Capital and applies to all classes.
Some 30 trains coming to Delhi and 30 flights landing or taking off from the Delhi airport were delayed, says IANS .
Scene at Yamuna Bank Metro station in Delhi on Tuesday.
Delhi continues to be enveloped with a thick blanket of haze, leading to a drop in visibility.
The AQI shows air quality was severe at 15 monitoring stations at mid morning and very poor in Anand Vihar, reports Damini Nath .
Students on their way to school in New Delhi as fog engulfs the city on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought a meeting with his counterparts in Punjab and Haryana to discuss measures to bring down the alarming pollution levels.
“Am writing letters to CMs of Punjab and Haryana requesting them for a meeting to find solns to crop burning,” he said in a tweet.
The transport department and traffic police have been ordered to take action against vehicles flouting pollution control norms.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has asked students to ‘stake claim’ to their right to breath clean air and has urged them to wear black mask/handkerchief on November 13 during their school’s morning assembly.
Fog engulfed the capital on Wednesday. A scene in East Delhi.
Mr. Sisodia said all primary schools, from nursery till class V, would be closed on Wednesday. He added that the government may extend this measure if pollution levels remained severe.
A public health emergency was declared in New Delhi after a blanket of smog engulfed the most polluted capital city in the world.A view of the Rajpath in New Delhi on Tuesday. Both the U.S. embassy and the IMA expressed concern over the pollution levels.
Delhiites are unlikely to get a respite soon, as the National Weather Forecasting Centre (NWFC) said the dense fog is likely to continue for three days, reducing visibility in the forenoon as conditions are favourable for the formation of fog.
7:00 a.m.
Waltch: Delhi in the grip of smog
A combination of smoke from stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana and moisture turned Delhi into a “gas chamber”, prompting the authorities to announce a series of preventive measures, including a four-fold hike in parking fees and slashing of metro fares.
The AQI data collected from 15 monitoring stations showed that particulate matter — both the smaller PM2.5 and the coarse PM10 — were the prominent pollutants in the cityi. Across the National Capital Region, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Noida also had severe pollution, while Gurugram fell in the “very poor” category.
The level of the harmful PM2.5, which is small enough to get embedded in the lungs causing serious respiratory illness, was several times over the standard of 60 micrograms per cubic metre.
(with inputs from PTI)
