‘Hazardous’ air in Delhi prompts calls for schools to be closed

On Thursday, nearly all monitoring stations in the Indian capital’s 20 million inhabitants saw the air quality index (AQI) break the “severe” and “dangerous” classifications, prompting calls for the closure of schools.
The Central Pollution Control Board’s data indicate that early in the day, the AQI was higher than 450 in many places. Federal authorities claim that a reading of 400 or higher affects healthy people and has disastrous effects on people who already have ailments.
In some areas of the city, the index was over 800, according to research by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
The government pollution control board of India on Thursday evening forbade the entry of diesel trucks carrying non-essential products into the capital because of the abnormally high levels of air pollution in Delhi.
Author and socialite Suhel Seth penned a tweet that read, “What is happening with air pollution in Delhi is nothing short of a crime against mankind!” The line of authority has completely broken down.
Burning crop residue in neighboring states to reduce air pollution during the winter months is the main cause of the smog that surrounds the capital of the most polluted nation in the world. fields for the following harvest, which traps smoke, car emissions, and construction dust in the cold, dense air.
Lower temperatures, calmer breezes, and their occasionally changing directions can sometimes make the air quality worse.
Parents and environmentalists appealed for the shutdown of schools on social media.
Environmental activist Vimlendu Jha posted on Twitter, “I realize children don’t vote for you, but nevertheless, begging all the chief ministers of Delhi (capital region) to immediately SHUT DOWN all the schools.”
For our youngsters, when every third child already has some respiratory challenges, breathing 500+ AQI is NOT NORMAL.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi and the leader of the party that also controls Punjab, where crop burning is pervasive, said on Twitter that people in both Punjab Delhi and other cities are battling pollution “at their level.”
To prevent dust pollution, the capital this week paused the majority of construction and demolition projects. Additionally, it advised citizens to carpool, go by motorbike rather than by automobile, use home offices wherever practical, and use less coal and firewood at their residences.