NEW DELHI. The capital of India New Delhi woke up this morning covered by a cloud of smog, composed of a mix of polluting emissions that have reached a new record. Local authorities have urged residents to stop construction work, use public transport and share cars.
The air quality index (AQI) has exceeded 400 points on a scale of up to 500, reaching a level of pollution defined as “serious” which can also harm healthy people as well as penalizing especially people who have already respiratory pathologies. The concentration of PM 2.5 particles in the air reached 278 micrograms per cubic meter in the south of the city; the WHO recommendation provides for a maximum daily exposure of less than 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air of fine dust.
PM 25 are the most dangerous emissions for humans as they can cross the lung barrier and enter the blood system due to its small size. The alarming deterioration of air quality in Delhi is common at this time of year, when several factors coincide, such as the onset of winter and the decrease in winds that prevent the dispersion of pollutants. Toxic air is a cocktail of vehicle emissions, construction dust, particulate matter from the burning of stubble in agricultural areas and the constant burning of solid waste in this city of 20 million people. The Indian Center for Science and the Environment (CSE), in a document published this week, pointed out that cars are one of the main pollutants in Delhi, even if the pollution of the capital derives up to 60% from that coming from the neighboring regions.