Delhi residents continued to grapple with deteriorating air quality as a layer of haze engulfed the city for the fifth consecutive day on Saturday.
Even though the pollution levels in the national capital dipped marginally from 475 yesterday to 470 today (Nov 4), the concentration of PM 2.5 was, however, more than 8 times the healthy limit prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO), reports The Indian Express.
Air quality in Delhi hit severe levels on Friday and a thick toxic smog cloaked the city, marking the beginning of a pollution season that has become an annual catastrophe for India’s capital, reports The Guardian.
Schools were shut and non-essential construction was banned around Delhi as the air quality index in the city almost hit 500 – the highest the measurement will go and 100 times the limit deemed to be healthy by the WHO.
The air quality deteriorated over the past week, attributed to a sharp rise in farmers in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab burning their fields during the crop planting season, compounded by winds that carried the pollutants into Delhi and a drop in temperatures trapping the particles, the report added.
On Sunday, the state of Punjab saw a 740% increase in farm fires, with more than a thousand recorded in a single day. Other causes of pollution in the city are car emissions, construction and the burning of rubbish at waste plants.
Delhi, home to about 33 million people, is regularly ranked the most polluted city in the world. According to this year’s air quality life index, compiled by the University of Chicago’s energy policy institute, the people of Delhi could have their lives shortened by 11.9 years due to the poor air they breathe.
