India: New peak in air pollution and schools closed in New Delhi

Air pollution hit a worrying new peak in the Indian capital New Delhi on Monday , drowned in a fog as opaque as it is toxic, which has forced the authorities to close most of the schools.

Air concentrations of PM 2.5 microparticles reached levels up to 60 times higher than the thresholds recommended by the World Health Organization in the morning. (WHO), according to data from the IQAir company.

The megalopolis of 30 million people faces episodes of hyperpollution every winter caused by the usual fumes from factories and road traffic, to which are added those from seasonal agricultural burning.

This toxic lid largely overflowed from New Delhi on Monday to cover a large part of northern India. Visitors to the Taj Mahal in Agra flooded social networks with photos showing the famous white marble monument drowned in mist.

After a short respite, the inhabitants of the second city of neighboring Pakistan, Lahore, once again breathed air described as “dangerous” on Monday.

“Smog” is considered by experts to be responsible for thousands of premature deaths each year.

“My eyes have been burning for several days,” Subodh Kumar, 30, who drives a pedal taxi (rickshaw), told AFP. “But pollution or not, I have to be on the road,” he added, “my life (…) is outside.”

Tourists in front of the Taj Mahal, Agra, November 18, 2024 © AFP – Pawan SHARMA

“I have never seen anything like this in the forty years I have lived here,” Scottish historian William Dalrymple wrote on his X account, comparing the Indian capital to a “death trap.”

Local authorities triggered level 4 of their alert plan on Sunday evening “in order to prevent further deterioration of air quality.”

– “Education affected” –

“Face-to-face classes will be suspended for all students except grades 10 and 12” at the high school, ordered the head of the local executive, Atishi, who goes by only one name.

Primary schools were closed as early as last week last.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

“Children's education will be affected because not all of them will be able to follow online classes,” lamented a mother, Huma Naaz, whose son attends school in New Delhi on Monday.

All construction sites have also been suspended and the circulation of heavy goods vehicles and the most polluting vehicles has been severely restricted.

The local government has also urged children, the elderly and anyone suffering from lung and/or heart conditions to “stay indoors as much as possible”.

Many residents of the Indian capital cannot afford air purifiers and live in homes with poor insulation from the outside.

“Who can afford an air purifier when they are struggling to pay their bills ?”, argued Rinku Kumar, 45, a driver of a “tuk-tuk”, these three-wheeled taxis motorized.

“Rich ministers and senior officials can afford to stay home, but ordinary people like us can't,” he added.

According to the WHO, air pollution can cause cardiovascular or respiratory diseases and lung cancer.

– “The government is doing nothing” –

India: Air pollution in Delhi territory © AFP – Lise KIENNEMANN, Thierno TOURE, Nicholas SHEARMAN

A study published in the medical journal Lancet attributed the deaths of 1.67 million Indians in 2019 to poor air quality.

India's Supreme Court on Monday ordered authorities to take “all possible measures” against pollution, arguing that it is their “constitutional obligation” to “ensure that citizens live in a healthy atmosphere”.

The preventive measures implemented so far by authorities, both national and local, have so far proven largely ineffective.

New Delhi's “chief minister” on Monday once again blamed agricultural burning in states neighboring the capital.

“The national government is doing nothing. Today, the whole of northern India is in a medical emergency,” lamented Atishi, who is from the opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“All night long I received phone calls from people who had to hospitalize elderly people for respiratory problems,” she lamented to the press.

After encouraging motorists to turn off their engines at red lights, the New Delhi municipality tested a filtering tower in 2021, which was quickly abandoned, and is now considering using drones to spray the most polluted areas.

“Half-measures,” denounce environmental protection NGOs, which advocate “stopping emissions at their base.”

All rights reserved All rights reserved for reproduction and representation. © (2024) Agence France-Presse