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Toxic air returns to haunt India's smog-choked capital
BY ARSHAD R. ZARGARNOVEMBER 1, 2022 / 7:37 AM / CBS NEWS
New Delhi — Indian authorities were scrambling on Tuesday to address deteriorating air quality as farmers burning crop stubble and calmer winter winds turned the capital city into a smog chamber. On Monday, the Delhi government halted all construction and demolition work in the city as India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed air quality deteriorating to "severe" levels.
At that level, air pollution "affects healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases," according to the board's categorization system.
Delhi's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI), which measures the concentration of very fine particles know as PM2.5 in the air - particularly harmful pollutants, as they're easily inhaled and can settle deep in the lungs - crossed 403 on Monday per the CPCB's data. On Tuesday, the AQI in New Delhi even hit 600 in some places. Anything over 300 is classed as "hazardous" on the international AQI rating system.
Even the air quality monitors installed at the U.S. Embassy in Delhi, which sits in one of the cleanest and greenest patches in the city, registered an AQI of 337 for a while on Tuesday morning.
Residents of the Indian capital weren't likely to see much improvement over the next week, with weather conditions expected to remain calm and the seasonal crop stubble burning likely to continue.
The Delhi government sent fire fighting teams to about a dozen air pollution hot spots on Tuesday to douse the ground with water, hoping to control dust contamination. Already there were more than 500 water sprinklers and 350 anti-smog mist guns in operation around the capital, deployed amid the Hindu Diwali festival last week, which brought the usual blanket of smoke from fireworks.
The anti-smog guns create an ultra-fine fog of water droplets that adhere to dust particles in the air, ideally leaving them to fall to the ground.
The Delhi government is following a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to combat air pollution in the city. Under the plan, construction activities are banned at stage three — when the air quality hits the "severe" level.
Stricter measures can be taken if the average air quality worsens to "Severe Plus," with an AQI of more than 450, including shutting down schools and offices and limiting the number of vehicles allowed on the city's roads.
Weather forecasters warned that the air quality was likely to worsen from Tuesday, as wind speeds will drop further, moving less of the smog out of the region.
"It is the responsibility of all of us to take initiative at every level to stop pollution," said Delhi's environment minister Gopal Rai, announcing a proposal for drivers to switch off their vehicles engines while they wait at traffic lights.
The Indian capital is choked with toxic air almost every winter thanks to a confluence of factors, but a significant proportion of the smog comes from the huge farm fires in the neighboring states of Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.
Many farmers burn off the remains of their crops, the stubble left sticking out of the ground, to prepare their fields for the next crop. It's a much cheaper option than transporting the stubble for proper disposal.
The practice has been formally banned by the country's Supreme Court, and farmers were warned they would face fines for violating the decree, but it has served as a weak deterrent.
Between September 15 and October 31 this year, Punjab state alone recorded 16,004 farm fires – almost 3,700 more than during the same period last year. Haryana state has recorded 1,921 farm fires this year.
Satellite imagery from NASA's Fire Information for Rescue Management System showed a dense patch of red dots on Tuesday, which indicate live fires, in Haryana over the past 24 hours.
Toxic air returns to haunt India's smog-choked capital
The annual blanket of air pollution hanging over Delhi is due to a confluence of factors, but it's a serious health threat, and it's expected to get worse.
www.cbsnews.com
