Breathing in Delhi is Equivalent to smoking 44 cigarettes a day

Air quality readings in the National capital have reached frightening levels in recent days.

Situations became so much worse that schools were asked to remain closed for few days. Parents kept their child indoors.

On Wednesday, the government banned incoming trucks and halted civil construction projects; while on Thursday, Kejriwal government announced Odd-even policy implementation to take the situation under control but later it was called off.

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A recent report was done by an independent Berkeley Earth science research group has shown that breathing in air with a PM2.5 content of between 950 to 1,000 is considered roughly equivalent to smoking 44 cigarettes a day.

Central Control Room for Air Quality Management recorded PM2.5 and PM10 concentration at 478 and 713 microgram per cubic meter by Saturday afternoon In Delhi.

There is no denying that air pollution is a major cause of preventable diseases and deaths in India.

Across the capital, doctors reported a surge in patients complaining of chest pain, breathlessness, and burning eyes.

Science journal The Lancet’s ‘Commission on Pollution and Health's study also gave some alarming figures for India. According to their study, pollution resulted in 2.5 million deaths in India in 2015 - the highest anywhere in the world.