India’s capital chokes on toxic smog, while Pakistan airs its grievances
New Delhi ranks as the world’s second most polluted city, after Lahore in neighbouring Pakistan, which blames India for the pollution
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‘Suffocating’ haze and pollution grip New Delhi and other Indian cities
The mix of smoke, emissions, and dust is an annual problem for authorities in New Delhi, with vehicles, construction dust, and smoke from farm fires in the adjoining northern states of Punjab and Haryana among the major contributors.
“The outlook for the subsequent six days: the air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ category,” said the earth sciences ministry.
The city’s overall score on an air quality index kept by India’s top pollution authorities was ‘very poor’ at 384, the ministry added, and was likely to stay there until Thursday.
An index range of 401 to 500 falls into the ‘severe’ category, implying it affects healthy people, but is more serious for those already fighting disease.
Ministry data showed farm fires have increasingly swelled the pollution over the last three days, for a share of more than 23 per cent on Monday, from about 15 per cent on Saturday.
