Strange cars drive through India’s capital, New Delhi. A cannon is mounted on the roof that sprays water. With these special vehicles, the authorities try to get rid of the poisonous cloud that hangs over the city.
According to the international air quality monitoring company IQAir, the level of particulate matter in the air was 588 per cubic meter, 40 times the daily maximum set by the World Health Organization (WHO). IQAir classified the air pollution as dangerous.
A gray veil hung over the metropolis in the morning. Police officer Hem Raj told AFP news agency that it was “the worst time to be outside”. When he wakes up in the morning he feels tired and listless, during the day “his eyes and throat are watering sore”.
People should work in the home office
The government closes primary schools because of air pollution. The arrangement will take effect from Saturday, New Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal (54) said Friday.
The government would also consider taking further measures against the smog, such as allowing alternating cars with even and odd number plates, Kejriwal said, according to India’s PTI news agency.
Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai (47) called on companies to allow their employees to work from home. According to him, this also applies to half of the employees of the local government. In addition, some diesel vehicles are currently no longer allowed to drive.
Fires in harvested fields are to blame
Indian Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav (53) blamed the northern state of Punjab for causing the smog crisis in Delhi. Punjab is ruled by the Aam Aadmi party, which opposes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (72). The smoke from thousands of fires in harvested fields is blamed for the dangerous smog.
Punjab Prime Minister Bhagwant Mann, 49, has denied the allegations. After all, he has only been in office for half a year. However, he explained that he would act against the burning of the fields.
Every winter, the cool air, the smoke from the fields burned by the farmers after the harvest and the exhaust fumes from industry and traffic in the metropolitan region create a harmful cocktail. Experts blame air pollution for thousands of deaths in and around New Delhi. (jmh/AFP/SDA)