‘Dangerous’ air pollution season begins in Indian capital – News

Pungent clouds engulfed the Indian capital on Wednesday as air pollution fueled by fireworks and the burning of agricultural stubble was classified as “hazardous” by observers for the first time this winter.

Commuters heading to work are coughing from the poisonous smog that kills thousands each year, health experts say, even though few people in this sprawling city wear masks.

New Delhi is blanketed each year in acrid smog, mainly blamed on stubble burning by farmers seeking to clear their fields for plowing in neighboring areas.

Air pollution is expected to worsen, especially during the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali, which falls on November 1 this year.

Smoky fireworks spewing dangerous pollution are part of the celebrations.

Levels of fine particulate matter – cancer-causing microparticles known as PM2.5 pollutants that enter the bloodstream through the lungs – have reached more than 68 times the maximum recommended by the World Health Organization.

Government efforts have so far failed to address the country’s air quality problem, and a study published in the medical journal Lancet attributed 1.67 million premature deaths in 2019 to pollution. air in the most populous country in the world.