Pollution curbs lifted in Indian capital although air quality ‘very poor’
The Supertech Twin Towers collapses following a controlled demolition after the Supreme Court found them in violation of building norms, in Noida, India, August 28, 2022. REUTERS
Authorities said on Monday that primary schools would reopen this week in New Delhi, the capital of India, and restrictions on some building activities will be lifted after pollution levels decreased from severe to “very poor.”
The capital’s residents have been waking up to hazy mornings with a greyish sky in recent weeks.
The city’s 20 million residents see an increase in respiratory ailments as a result of the thick layer of smog that covers it in winter due to the cold, heavy air trapping construction dust, automobile emissions, and smoke from agricultural stubble burning in neighboring states.
The air quality index in nearly all monitoring stations in the city was between 300 to 400 or in the “very poor” category on Monday, which experts say leads to respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.
Primary schools were forced to close, diesel trucks carrying non-essential products were forbidden from entering, and the majority of construction and demolition work in the national capital region was put on hold last week.
Private development and destruction will still be prohibited, according to Rai, but public works for roads and power transmission would be allowed.
However, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research warned on its website that the air quality could deteriorate later this week.
