Health emergency

declared, pollution
soars in New Delhi
New Delhi government calls India capital a
'gas chamber', announces closing of schools
amid worsening pollution crisis.
by Zeenat Saberin
7 Nov 2017
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New Delhi, India - The Indian capital was enveloped by a shroud of

toxic smog on Tuesday, forcing the Indian Medical Association to
declare a public health emergency and advised schools to be shut.

"This is a public health emergency, so everyone should stay indoors,

no jogging, running or walking outside," said Dr Krishan Kumar
Aggarwal, the head of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

On Tuesday morning, the US embassy air pollution tracker said levels

of PM2.5, tiny particulate matter that enters deep into the lungs and
bloodstream, reached 703, which is double the mark of 300 that
authorities deem as hazardous.

"This is like heavy rain of PM 2.5. In heavy rain, you don't venture
out," he told Al Jazeera.
At 1pm local time, the tracker showed AQI (air quality index) at 728,
a level that leaves even healthy people at risk of serious respiratory
problems.

Public health emergency

Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, was quick to comment on
the worsening pollution situation in the capital. "Delhi has become a
gas chamber," he tweeted.

"Every year this happens during this part of year. We have to find a
solution to crop burning in adjoining states," he said referring to
smoke caused by the burning of crops in the northern Indian states
near Delhi.

Children and elderly are more at risk, warned Dr Aggarwal barely a

week after a report by science journal Lancet said half a million
Indians died prematurely due to PM2.5.

"The government must take all appropriate measures so that schools

are shut and people don't have to go outside. People suffering from
respiratory conditions might feel worse, this might even induce a
heart attack in patients with pre-existing heart problems," Aggarwal
told Al Jazeera.

The Delhi government followed through, as it announced closure of

primary schools from Wednesday.

By 10am on Tuesday, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

recorded "severe" air quality, meaning the intensity of pollution was
extreme. The last time air had turned "severe’" was on October 20, a
day after Diwali festivities. Since then, the CPCB pollution monitors
have been recording "very poor" air quality, which is comparatively
better than "severe" but alarming as per global standards.

"My 12-year-old son suffers from asthma. He woke up with breathing

problems in the morning today. He is coughing as well," says Vidya, a
45-year-old woman who lives in the slum village of Tughlaqabad in
south Delhi.

Doctors at the IMA have also asked the city's biggest running race,
the Delhi Half Marathon, scheduled on November 19 to be cancelled.
Crop burning
Crop burning and industrial pollution from adjoining states add to
the bad air in New Delhi, according to experts.

According to the Haryana Pollution Control Board, farmers in northern states like
Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan burn millions of tonnes of crop waste around October
every year to clear farmland before sowing the winter crop. An estimated 35 million
tonnes are set afire in Punjab and Haryana every year, which contributes to the haze
and smog in New Delhi.

According to local media reports, crop stubble were burned in 640

locations across neighbouring Haryana state on Monday.

As air quality deteriorated, earlier last month, the Environment

Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) ordered diesel
generators and a power plant in Delhi to be shut down, while also
directing closure of some brick kilns and the burning of rubbish to
stop.

On Tuesday, the EPCA, appointed by the Supreme Court,

also recommendedhiking the parking fees for private vehicles by four
times as Delhi struggled with its worst pollution of this year.

But Delhi's air quality index revealed these measures are clearly not
enough to prevent pollution levels from rising.

The Lancet Commission has suggested that India can tackle ambient
outdoor air pollution, in the short term, by first identifying sources of
pollutants to enable targeted interventions. This can be done by
installing dust management systems, establishing monitoring
systems, mandating improved fuel quality and engine standards.

In the medium term, the expert commission calls for criteria for
cleaner vehicles, including testing stations, control on diesel vehicles,
incentives for use of electric and hybrid vehicles and upgrading the
public transport.

In the absence of concerted government action on battling pollution

and political blame-games, courts have stepped in several times in
the past years.
Last month, the top court temporarily banned the sale of firecrackers in and around
New Delhi in the face of the Hindu festival of Diwali sparking debate over the
decision. It also outlawed the sale of luxury diesel vehicles and ordered a tax on
trucks entering the city.