INDIAN DELHI CHOKES ON TOXIC SMOG AFTER FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

 

NEW DELHI, India -  Thick smoke hung over New Delhi this week as millions of Indians lit firecrackers to mark the Diwali festival, but calls for a boycott highlighted growing concerns over air quality in one of the world’s most polluted cities. 

Pollution in the Indian capital reached “severe” levels on Friday, the day after Diwali, according to a new air quality index launched earlier this month as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Clean India” mission. 

That means the concentration of airborne particles known as PM2.5, which are considered the most harmful, was more than 250 — 10 times the upper limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). 

Indian authorities regularly appeal to the public to restrict their use of firecrackers, which every year cause injuries as well as letting off the acrid smoke that chokes the capital. 

Despite this week's spike, Gufran Beig, chief scientist at India's state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), said Delhi's air was generally better than Beijing's(photo). 

• "A majority of the time, Delhi air is quite bad, however it is still better than Beijing," Beig told AFP, while conceding that the post-Diwali air likely rivaled the Chinese capital's infamous smog.   
• "It's going to be that way for 24 hours before it gets better," he added.

 

Despite this week's spike, Gufran Beig, chief scientist at India's state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (Safar), said Delhi's air was generally better than Beijing's.
"A majority of the time, Delhi air is quite bad, but it is still better than Beijing," Beig told AFP, while conceding that the post-Diwali air likely rivalled the Chinese capital's infamous smog.
"It's going to be that way for 24 hours before it gets better," he added.
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