To contain new peaks in air pollution, the authorities of the Indian capital have decided to close most schools, encourage teleworking and restrict traffic this Monday, November 18.
A thick gray smog covers the Indian capital this Monday, November 18 and forces it to shut down. Most schools are closed, movement restrictions are reinforced and teleworking is strongly recommended, until further notice. And for good reason: the concentration of PM2.5 microparticles – the most dangerous, because they diffuse directly into the blood through the lungs – was measured in the morning at 907 micrograms per cubic meter of air in certain points of the megacity of 30 million inhabitants. That is to say a level more than 60 times higher than the maximum threshold set by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The government has called on children, the elderly and all those suffering from pulmonary or cardiac pathologies to “stay indoors as much as possible”. Note, however, that being walled in does not protect them entirely: many residents of the capital cannot afford an air purifier and live in housing that is poorly sealed from the stale air from the outside, responsible for thousands of premature deaths each year. The measures of the authorities, who launched level 4 of their alert plan on Sunday, must above all “prevent further deterioration of air quality”. Schools in New Delhi are therefore holding their lessons remotely this Monday, with the exception of two years of high school – primary schools had already had to do so since Thursday. Construction sites and the movement of diesel trucks are restricted for the same reasons.
Factories, road traffic and agricultural burning
These pollution peaks return every year to New Delhi: in addition to toxic fumes from factories and road traffic pollution, those from seasonal agricultural burning are added. The drop in temperatures and the weak winds of winter, which extends from mid- October until at least January in India, intensify pollution by fixing dangerous particles on site. The megalopolis of 30 million inhabitants is constantly at the top of the ranking of the most polluted cities in the world at this time of year.
And the consequences on the health of the population are just as important. Air pollution causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer. It is responsible for 11.5% of mortality in New Delhi and kills 12,000 people per year, according to a study published last June. In 2019, the Lancet estimated that air pollution killed 1.67 million Indians each year. Figures which certainly guided the decision of the country's Supreme Court: it ruled, in October, that access to healthy air was a fundamental right and ordered the central and state governments to act.
“The national government is doing nothing. Today all of northern India finds itself in a medical emergency situationlamented the chief minister of New Delhi on Monday. All night I received phone calls from people who had to hospitalize elderly people.” The initiatives undertaken by local authorities have had little effect so far. After encouraging motorists to turn off their engines at red lights, the city recently presented a drone intended to spray water on the most polluted areas. “Measures”denounce environmental defense NGOs, who advocate “stop emissions at their base”.
