Air pollution in New Delhi has been declared the worst level so far this year and has made the capital of India a ‘gas chamber’.
Doctors have seen a spike in patients with respiratory related issues, according to Sachin Taparia, head of Local Circles, as the capital’s air quality index deteriorated to more than 900 – 400 above the level deemed ‘severe’, on Sunday.
New Delhi has been declared a public health emergency and school’s have been forced to close.
Hindu women worship the Sun god in the polluted waters of the river Yamuna during the Hindu religious festival of Chatth Puja in New Delhi, India, and look on to the smoggy air which has deteriorated to an air quality index of more than 900, 400 above ‘severe’
A rickshaw driver is pictured reading a newspaper while wearing a mask to battle the heavy air quality in India’s capital. As a result of the poor conditions, New Delhi has been declared a public health emergency and school’s have been forced to close
A family head home after worshiping on a beach with poor visibility in New Delhi, yesterday. More than 30 flights were diverted from Delhi airport due to poor visibility and roads were left deserted as people chose to stay inside instead of bracing the toxic air
As the air quality worsens across northern India, doctors have seen a spike in patients with respiratory related issues, according to Sachin Taparia, head of Local Circles. Here a woman is pictured with a scarf held against her mouth and nose, secured by the straps of her helmet. Meanwhile her driver wears a handkerchief worn tight against his face, on November 2
Two motorbiker’s wear handkerchiefs over their faces to cover themselves from the heavy smog conditions, yesterday
More than 30 flights were diverted from Delhi airport due to poor visibility and roads were left deserted as people chose to stay inside instead of bracing the toxic air.
Delhi’s chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said it has reached ‘unbearable levels’ across northern India, on Twitter.
However no relief is expected for the next couples of days because humidity caused by overnight rain had exacerbated pollution which had been driven by burning of straw, known as stubble, according to the monitoring agency SAFAR.
As wind speed is ‘picking up’ it could take 24 to 48 hours before pollution level reduces to around 500, Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Skymet, said.
A reading above 400 poses a risk for people with respiratory illness and can affect even those with healthy lungs.
A woman balances her suitcase on her lap as she navigates the roads on the back of motorbike. As wind speed is ‘picking up’ it could take 24 to 48 hours before pollution level reduces to around 500 in New Delhi, Mahesh Palawat , vice president of Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, said
A pedestrian wears a pollution mask as she crosses a zebra crossing in the capital of India, in an area which appears completely abandoned. Many have chosen to stay indoors instead of bracing the toxic air
Indian police personnel wearing face masks stand guard amidts heavy smog conditions near a demonstration against air pollution in New Delhi on November 3
An Indian traffic police officer holds his hand over his mouth to be extra safe as he patrols along a quiet street in New Delhi on November 2. While construction work was closed on Friday, the use of private vehicles on the capital’s roads will also be restricted from today
A group of students pose for a photograph in face masks which they were given on November 1 by Delhi government
An aerial view shows the city engulfed in heavy smog in New Delhi, India on October 31, and the horizon line disappears into the heavy air
Delhi Government has planned to distribute pollution masks to all the Delhi school students as the health emerg ency is declared due to the air quality that hit severe levels in the past several days
Mr Taparia found 40 per cent of his consultancy want to get out of Delhi because of the failure to manage the pollution.
Schools and construction activity were closed on Friday and the use of private vehicles on the capital’s roads will be restricted from today.
Delhi’s Kejriwal, and the chief ministers from the neighbor states of Punjab and Haryana, urged the federal government to do more to combat the pollution.
The Supreme Court is likely to hear a petition from the environment agency looking for ways to make state governments to take tougher action against farmers to curb the stubble-burning, today. Politicians have been reluctant to upset their farming constituencies.
Stubble burning across Delhi and neighoburing states has contributed 44 per cent to Delhi’s pollution, according to SAFAR. They have captured more than 3, 000 incidents in satellite pictures.
A jogger wears a facemask as he braces the poor air quality for a spot of fitness on October 28, Delhi’s Kejriwal, and the chief ministers from the neighbor states of Punjab and Haryana, have urged the federal government to do more to combat the pollution which is pushing people to leave Delhi
Indian commuters continue on their journey’s equipped with blankets and scarves to cover their faces on a motorway in Amritsar, India, on November 1
An Indian farmer burns a straw crop, known as stubble, at a village on the outskirts of Amritsar in India on November 2, and burning this substance has contributed 44 per cent of Delhi’s pollution, according to SAFAR
A security guard is pictured stretching out on the road-side in the early morning. The capital’s air quality plummeted to the season’s worst on the morning after the Hindu festival of Diwali (pictured on October 28)
Austere: Trains travel through heavy smog conditions in Ghaziabad, India, on the outskirts of New Delhi on October 28
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