Delhi pollution: Public health emergency declared, primary schools to remain closed today

Skyrocketing pollution levels caused by a combined effect of smoke from stubble burning and moisture have turned Delhi into a "gas chamber" forcing authorities to order all primary schools in the national capital to remain closed today.

The Indian Medical Association has declared a "public health emergency" and appealed to the government to stop outdoor sports and other such activities in schools to protect the health of children.

Air quality remains "severe" areas like Delhi's Lodhi Garden. Variousareasincluding Dwarka, India Gate, Dhaula Kuan and RKPuram remained covered in a thick haze.

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A number of schools in Delhi suspended outdoor activities and advised parents to ensure their children wear masks.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced yesterday evening that primary schools in the national capital will remain closed on Wednesday.

Schools under all the three municipal corporations will be closed today in view of the pollution-related heavy smog, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation said in a statement.

A number of schools in Delhi have suspended outdoor activities and advised parents to ensure their children wear masks.

The Delhi government has issued a health advisory for high-risk people, including children, the elderly, pregnant women and those suffering from asthma and heart ailments.

Schoolchildren and residents complained of itching in eyes this morning.

People were seen wearing masks to work and outside their homes.

The poor quality of air, the season's worst yesterday, has left people gasping for breath and also prompted a series of sweeping measures including a four-fold hike in parking fees.

The Central Pollution Control Board member secretary A Sudhakar informed Supreme Court mandated watchdog, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, that smoke-laden air from neighbouring Punjab and Haryana and moisture-heavy winds from the eastern region had combined with local pollutants triggering the situation.

"We are not expecting a dramatic change in the next two-three days. Shallow fog is preventing the dissipation of pollutants at the ground level," Mr Sudhakar said.

CPCB air laboratory chief Dipankar Saha said the haze cannot be called smog as Delhi's air does not have the presence of gaseous pollutants such as SOx or NO2
(suplur oxides or nitrogen dioxides) beyond safe limits.

The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, empowered to enforce the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to contain emergency levels of pollution, announced that all measures under the plan's "severe" category will be implemented across the region till further notice.

It also directed the states in the region to start preparing for implementing measures like 'odd-even' in light of the "crisis situation" and a complete ban on construction activities if pollution aggravates.

A thick blanket of haze enveloped Delhi yesterday, leading to falling visibility levels and affecting flight and train operations. The haze permeated living rooms and even the underground metro stations in the city making it difficult to breathe, turning eyes watery and producing burning sensation, PTI reported.

Poor visibility hampered flight operations, leading to delays in schedule of over 300 flights by up to two hours as only one of the three runways could be used while around 25 Delhi-bound trains were delayed.

The National Green Tribunal took the governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana to task, seeking to know why steps to prevent steps were not taken despite knowing well in advance that such a situation was likely to arise.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted yesterday:

The air quality index (AQI), 448 in a scale of 500, was in the "severe" category for the second time this year. The AQI index even surpassed the level of 403 on the festival of Diwali on October 20.

The central government's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) recorded 24-hour rolling averages of PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5 and PM 10 at a staggering 406 and 645 micrograms per cubic metre, way above the permissible limits of 60 and 100.

The real-time monitors of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), many of which stopped working as the concentration of pollutants went through the roof, recorded PM10 over 10 times the permissible limit at several areas.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) attributed huge quantities of pollutant emissions in the Delhi-NCR and upwind regions from various sources for the rising levels of pollution.

TERI suggested closure of schools, the introduction of the odd-even car rationing scheme and allowing government and private employees to work from home as measures to tackle pollution.

"We suggest stringent enforcement of the plan with emphasis on restricted entry of trucks other than those complying with BS-IV regulations... Extensive cleaning of roads using mechanised and manual mechanism," it said and added that schools be shut.

Greenpeace India said a systematic, time-bound and comprehensive action plan addressing all sources of pollution is the need of the hour.

It said the situation in Delhi-NCR is a result of the episodic event of crop biomass burning.

"Delhi remains the epicenter of the pollution debate. However, Punjab, Haryana and most parts of northern India breath even worse quality of air," said Sunil Dahiya, campaigner, Greenpeace India.

(With inputs from PTI)