The smog that has enveloped Delhi-NCR for the past two days has led to severe spike in the levels of particulate matters which can&nbsp;cause allergies or aggravate already existing allergies and decrease lung immunity.

The PM2.5 and PM10 levels at Lodhi Road on Wednesday afternoon was 500, way above the prescribed safety limit of 60. The weather department has predicted similar situation to prevail on Thursday as well.

Doctors have issued a health advisory asking people to avoid outdoor activities like jogging and cycling. They say&nbsp;such a high level of air pollution&nbsp;can cause stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases.

&quot;A thick blanket of smog has engulfed Delhi-NCR, and many areas of Punjab and Haryana. This is going to continue for the next three days. The smog is a result of moisture in the air and very low wind speed,&quot; said Dr K Sathi Devi, a weather scientist.

Many people are complaining of burning sensation in their eyes and difficulty in breathing.

Vikas Maurya, senior consultant at Fortis,&nbsp;suggested that air purifying plants like Aloe Vera, Ivy and Spider Plant should be kept at home and in offices.

Fruits rich in Vitamin C, magnesium, omega fatty acids should be consumed more to fight any allergy or infection, he added.

The air quality deteriorated on Tuesday with visibility levels dropping sharply. The low visibility affected flight services and movement of trains.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to the Centre seeking appointment with Union health minister. Kejriwal has termed Delhi a &#39;gas chamber&#39;.

The smog that has enveloped Delhi-NCR for the past two days has led to severe spike in the levels of particulate matters which can cause allergies or aggravate already existing allergies and decrease lung immunity.

The smog that has enveloped Delhi-NCR for the past two days has led to severe spike in the levels of particulate matters which can cause allergies or aggravate already existing allergies and decrease lung immunity. The PM2.5 and PM10 levels at Lodhi Road on Wednesday afternoon was 500, way above the prescribed safety limit of 60. The weather department has predicted similar situation to prevail on Thursday as well. Doctors have issued a health advisory asking people to avoid outdoor activities like jogging and cycling. They say such a high level of air pollution can cause stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases. "A thick blanket of smog has engulfed Delhi-NCR, and many areas of Punjab and Haryana. This is going to continue for the next three days. The smog is a result of moisture in the air and very low wind speed," said Dr K Sathi Devi, a weather scientist. Many people are complaining of burning sensation in their eyes and difficulty in breathing. Vikas Maurya, senior consultant at Fortis, suggested that air purifying plants like Aloe Vera, Ivy and Spider Plant should be kept at home and in offices. Fruits rich in Vitamin C, magnesium, omega fatty acids should be consumed more to fight any allergy or infection, he added. The air quality deteriorated on Tuesday with visibility levels dropping sharply. The low visibility affected flight services and movement of trains. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has written to the Centre seeking appointment with Union health minister. Kejriwal has termed Delhi a 'gas chamber'.

Pollution levels: Here's how smog can harm you in 'gas chamber' Delhi

The pollution level in Delhi is alarmingly high. According to doctors, breathing in the air outside is equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day.

This severe pollution is affecting people, not just on the roads but those sitting at the homes as well. The Delhi government is actively monitoring the situation and has asked for the schools to be closed. It is also the time for you to go for an air purifier for your home.

Here&rsquo;s a guide that can help you pick up the right air purifier:

Make sure the purifier is HEPA labelled: HEPA or high efficiency particulate air technology absorbs the particulate matter suspended in the air. It will help filter the air of your home, but needs to be replaced every few months.

Check for the range of the purifier: The clean air delivery rate in a filter should be more than 300 cubic metre, which will ensure that a room is covered fully.

High energy efficiency: Choose an air purifier that offers high energy efficiency. It should consume less amount of electricity, so check the specifications and don&rsquo;t go for more than 100 watts.

There are a lot of air purifiers available in the market, but don&rsquo;t just settle for anyone. Make sure it goes with your room size and has all the right things in place.

HERE&#39;S A COMPARISON OF DELHI&#39;S&nbsp;AIR QUALITY INDEX OVER THE LAST ONE WEEK

&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://s.wionews.com/photos/infographics-slide_air-quality-index-delhi-ncr-20171107090236.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
The deteriorating quality of air in Delhi over the last one week (WION)
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

The pollution level in Delhi is alarmingly high. According to doctors, breathing in the air outside is equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day.

The pollution level in Delhi is alarmingly high. According to doctors, breathing in the air outside is equivalent to smoking 50 cigarettes a day. This severe pollution is affecting people, not just on the roads but those sitting at the homes as well. The Delhi government is actively monitoring the situation and has asked for the schools to be closed. It is also the time for you to go for an air purifier for your home. Here’s a guide that can help you pick up the right air purifier: Make sure the purifier is HEPA labelled: HEPA or high efficiency particulate air technology absorbs the particulate matter suspended in the air. It will help filter the air of your home, but needs to be replaced every few months. Check for the range of the purifier: The clean air delivery rate in a filter should be more than 300 cubic metre, which will ensure that a room is covered fully. High energy efficiency: Choose an air purifier that offers high energy efficiency. It should consume less amount of electricity, so check the specifications and don’t go for more than 100 watts. There are a lot of air purifiers available in the market, but don’t just settle for anyone. Make sure it goes with your room size and has all the right things in place. HERE'S A COMPARISON OF DELHI'S AIR QUALITY INDEX OVER THE LAST ONE WEEK The deteriorating quality of air in Delhi over the last one week (WION) ×

Delhi pollution: Tips to choose air purifier

&ldquo;Smog chokes Delhi&rdquo;, declared the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/08/world/asia/india-delhi-smog.html">the New York Times</a> on November 7, 2016, informing readers around the world that contaminating particulates in the air in the Indian capital had &ldquo;soared in some places to&hellip;more than 16 times the limit India&rsquo;s government considers safe.&rdquo;

I was in Delhi at the time for my niece&rsquo;s wedding. Visibility was virtually nil &ndash; 100 metres at best &ndash; and, devastatingly, winds were calm. Schools were closed for three days.

Experts said that <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?relid=153143">crop burning</a> in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab states, car emissions, construction and the use of fireworks during <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-india-diwali-pollution-20161031-story.html">the traditional Hindu festival of Diwali</a> had caused the pollution, which, in my observation, ranks as one of India&rsquo;s worst ever.

To get the situation under control, the Indian government announced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/06/delhi-air-pollution-closes-schools-for-three-days">it would temporarily</a> shut down construction sites and a coal-fired power station.

As a former Delhi resident and forestry researcher, I felt a personal obligation to better understand this crisis &ndash; ideally, so India can avoid a repeat this coming November.

I started gathering all available data about pollution levels in Delhi, obtaining hourly and daily air-quality levels from <a href="http://www.cpcb.gov.in/CAAQM/frmUserAvgReportCriteria.aspx">India&rsquo;s Central Pollution Control Board</a> and, from NASA, snapshots of crop-burning for November 2016. I dug into the details, using <a href="http://berkeleyearth.org/">pollution images</a> to validate the collected data.

The analysis took me six months. Here&rsquo;s what I found.

Pollution and wind&nbsp;

Pollution is a complex phenomenon involving numerous molecules, including particulate matter (PM), ozone, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and variables, like wind speed, temperature, rain and humidity.

I found that during Delhi&rsquo;s 2016 pre-monsoon and monsoon season, which is February through September, air pollution based on fine particulate matter (PM 2.5, the most hazardous contaminate) dropped as wind speed increased.

Figure 1: Pollution levels and wind speed (2016)

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/176491/area14mp/file-20170701-8514-p35cpg.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/176491/width754/file-20170701-8514-p35cpg.png" /></a>

<figcaption>
Throughout 2016, pollution in Delhi worsened as wind decreased.

Likewise, air pollution rose in October, November and December 2016, as wind speed decreased. Particulate levels spike in November, which coincided with the Diwali festival and then with a spate of crop-burning in rural areas near Delhi.
</figcaption>
</figure>

As Figure 2 shows, there was a visible relationship between <a href="https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Wind-speed,New-Delhi,India">average daily wind speed</a> and pollution levels in Delhi from late October through mid-November 2016.

Figure 2: Pollution levels and wind speed (by day)

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/176493/area14mp/file-20170701-22491-9p9r7u.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/176493/width754/file-20170701-22491-9p9r7u.png" /></a>

<figcaption>
Data for Oct. 25, 2016, to Nov. 15, 2016. Low wind speeds (WS) are associated with higher levels of particulate matter.

On November 6, 2016, wind speed was the lowest of any day during that period, an average of 0.46 meters per second (m/sec). That day, PM 2.5 reached as high as 713 micrograms per cubic meter, prompting international headlines.
</figcaption>
</figure>

As average wind speed increased between November 6 and 7 from 0.46 m/sec to a very light breeze of 0.74 m/sec, the pollution level dropped by 38.4 per cent. November 7 and November 8 followed the same trend, with average wind speed of 1.25 m/sec leading PM 2.5 to again drop, this time 56 per cent from peak levels.

Residue crop burning and wind direction

The Wind is not the only factor in air pollution, of course. What goes into the air matters, too.

In Haryana and Punjab states to the north of Delhi, farmers commonly burn their remaining crops in fall, after the summer harvest ends, riding their fields of stubble, weed and pests and readying them for winter planting.

This agricultural event coincides with Diwali, India&rsquo;s festival of lights, which features three or four nights of fireworks before and after the festival, in October or early November.

I analysed <a href="https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/">snapshots of data from NASA</a> compiled for September 1 (no fires yet in Haryana and Punjab), October 1 (start of fires) and the first week of November in 2016.

Figure 3: Crop-burning snapshots, Punjab and Haryana states (2016)

<figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/176492/area14mp/file-20170701-17680-1kgy0ls.png"><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/176492/width754/file-20170701-17680-1kgy0ls.png" /></a>

<figcaption>
Red indicates live fires. Delhi is located in the center of the shot, near bottom, southeast of the major crop burns.&nbsp;

The data confirm that the days of highest pollution levels in Delhi (November 1 to November 7) coincided with large-scale residue crop-burning to the city&rsquo;s northwest and, to a lesser degree, south.
</figcaption>
</figure>

Wind-direction data from the Central Pollution Control Board in Rohtak, Haryana, between November 1 and November 7 show that, in those days, the wind blew primarily east and east-southeast &ndash; that is, towards Delhi.

Figure 4: Wind direction

<figure class="align-center "><img alt="" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/files/176490/width754/file-20170701-26302-1mgn0sy.png" />
<figcaption>
Wind data from November 1 to November 7, 2016. Smoke from crop burns was being carried directly over to Delhi.&nbsp;
</figcaption>
</figure>

Improving Delhi&rsquo;s air quality

My research confirms, in great detail, that the main elements of Delhi&rsquo;s record-breaking pollution levels in November 2016 were lower wind speeds, the use of fireworks during Diwali, residue crop-burning and wind direction.

These factors may well coincide once again in November, the month of lowest average wind speeds in Delhi according to meteorological data.

That gives Indian policy-makers and Delhi residents just under four months to take action. Strictly limiting residue crop-burning, celebratory firecrackers and major construction in November may safeguard the city against another air-quality disaster.

Regulations may include a total ban (perhaps with financial compensation for the inconvenience) on residue crop burning during October and November in Haryana and Punjab, and rationing fire crackers during Diwali.

Other countries have taken measures to limit crop-burning. In Victoria, Australia, the state government strongly encourages farmers to adopt conservation farming systems, including retaining crop stubble residues but allows <a href="http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/grains-and-other-crops/crop-production/stubble-burning">burning sporadically</a>. And in some Canadian provinces, stubble-burning is allowed <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/smoke-from-stubble-fires-engulfs-winnipeg-1.678678">by permit only</a>.

There is no such legislation is under consideration in India.

The government has come up with a seeder that can be used to plant wheat without the need to dispose of the straw left after the rice harvest. But even with financial help <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/03/world/asia/farmers-unchecked-crop-burning-fuels-indias-air-pollution.html?_r=0">farmers can&rsquo;t afford</a> this expensive new technology.

Pending regulation, raising the general public&rsquo;s awareness of the issue could help. By printing pamphlets about pollution and its effects on air quality and health, as well by informing people of the daily trends of pollution through TV, radio and social media, India&rsquo;s government could help teach farmers in hard-to-reach rural India about the impact of their actions.

<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/80376/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" width="1" />Delhi &ndash; and India in general &ndash; can no longer afford to do nothing.

&nbsp;

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-another-smog-season-looms-india-must-act-soon-to-keep-delhi-from-gasping-80376">original article</a>.

&nbsp;

Another smog season is coming up, and experts urge new laws, better awareness and government intervention to fight pollution in Delhi.

“Smog chokes Delhi”, declared the the New York Times on November 7, 2016, informing readers around the world that contaminating particulates in the air in the Indian capital had “soared in some places to…more than 16 times the limit India’s government considers safe.” I was in Delhi at the time for my niece’s wedding. Visibility was virtually nil – 100 metres at best – and, devastatingly, winds were calm. Schools were closed for three days. Experts said that crop burning in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab states, car emissions, construction and the use of fireworks during the traditional Hindu festival of Diwali had caused the pollution, which, in my observation, ranks as one of India’s worst ever. To get the situation under control, the Indian government announced it would temporarily shut down construction sites and a coal-fired power station. As a former Delhi resident and forestry researcher, I felt a personal obligation to better understand this crisis – ideally, so India can avoid a repeat this coming November. I started gathering all available data about pollution levels in Delhi, obtaining hourly and daily air-quality levels from India’s Central Pollution Control Board and, from NASA, snapshots of crop-burning for November 2016. I dug into the details, using pollution images to validate the collected data. The analysis took me six months. Here’s what I found. Pollution and wind Pollution is a complex phenomenon involving numerous molecules, including particulate matter (PM), ozone, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and variables, like wind speed, temperature, rain and humidity. I found that during Delhi’s 2016 pre-monsoon and monsoon season, which is February through September, air pollution based on fine particulate matter (PM 2.5, the most hazardous contaminate) dropped as wind speed increased. Figure 1: Pollution levels and wind speed (2016) Throughout 2016, pollution in Delhi worsened as wind decreased. Likewise, air pollution rose in October, November and December 2016, as wind speed decreased. Particulate levels spike in November, which coincided with the Diwali festival and then with a spate of crop-burning in rural areas near Delhi. As Figure 2 shows, there was a visible relationship between average daily wind speed and pollution levels in Delhi from late October through mid-November 2016. Figure 2: Pollution levels and wind speed (by day) Data for Oct. 25, 2016, to Nov. 15, 2016. Low wind speeds (WS) are associated with higher levels of particulate matter. On November 6, 2016, wind speed was the lowest of any day during that period, an average of 0.46 meters per second (m/sec). That day, PM 2.5 reached as high as 713 micrograms per cubic meter, prompting international headlines. As average wind speed increased between November 6 and 7 from 0.46 m/sec to a very light breeze of 0.74 m/sec, the pollution level dropped by 38.4 per cent. November 7 and November 8 followed the same trend, with average wind speed of 1.25 m/sec leading PM 2.5 to again drop, this time 56 per cent from peak levels. Residue crop burning and wind direction The Wind is not the only factor in air pollution, of course. What goes into the air matters, too. In Haryana and Punjab states to the north of Delhi, farmers commonly burn their remaining crops in fall, after the summer harvest ends, riding their fields of stubble, weed and pests and readying them for winter planting. This agricultural event coincides with Diwali, India’s festival of lights, which features three or four nights of fireworks before and after the festival, in October or early November. I analysed snapshots of data from NASA compiled for September 1 (no fires yet in Haryana and Punjab), October 1 (start of fires) and the first week of November in 2016. Figure 3: Crop-burning snapshots, Punjab and Haryana states (2016) Red indicates live fires. Delhi is located in the center of the shot, near bottom, southeast of the major crop burns. The data confirm that the days of highest pollution levels in Delhi (November 1 to November 7) coincided with large-scale residue crop-burning to the city’s northwest and, to a lesser degree, south. Wind-direction data from the Central Pollution Control Board in Rohtak, Haryana, between November 1 and November 7 show that, in those days, the wind blew primarily east and east-southeast – that is, towards Delhi. Figure 4: Wind direction Wind data from November 1 to November 7, 2016. Smoke from crop burns was being carried directly over to Delhi. Improving Delhi’s air quality My research confirms, in great detail, that the main elements of Delhi’s record-breaking pollution levels in November 2016 were lower wind speeds, the use of fireworks during Diwali, residue crop-burning and wind direction. These factors may well coincide once again in November, the month of lowest average wind speeds in Delhi according to meteorological data. That gives Indian policy-makers and Delhi residents just under four months to take action. Strictly limiting residue crop-burning, celebratory firecrackers and major construction in November may safeguard the city against another air-quality disaster. Regulations may include a total ban (perhaps with financial compensation for the inconvenience) on residue crop burning during October and November in Haryana and Punjab, and rationing fire crackers during Diwali. Other countries have taken measures to limit crop-burning. In Victoria, Australia, the state government strongly encourages farmers to adopt conservation farming systems, including retaining crop stubble residues but allows burning sporadically. And in some Canadian provinces, stubble-burning is allowed by permit only. There is no such legislation is under consideration in India. The government has come up with a seeder that can be used to plant wheat without the need to dispose of the straw left after the rice harvest. But even with financial help farmers can’t afford this expensive new technology. Pending regulation, raising the general public’s awareness of the issue could help. By printing pamphlets about pollution and its effects on air quality and health, as well by informing people of the daily trends of pollution through TV, radio and social media, India’s government could help teach farmers in hard-to-reach rural India about the impact of their actions. Delhi – and India in general – can no longer afford to do nothing. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Delhi is suffocating, India must act soon

Seeking assistance in lowering the pollution levels in the national capital, the Delhi government has written to the Centre asking for aerial sprinkling of water through helicopter.

In a letter to Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi&rsquo;s Environment Minister Imran Hussain has said that Delhi government is ready to bear the cost of the exercise.

&quot;In view of the continuous poor air quality in Delhi, it is requested that your good office may kindly propose to Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India to carry out an exercise to sprinkle water aerially through helicopter/aircraft to settle particulate matters in Delhi. Government of NCT of Delhi is willing to bear the expenses from Air Ambience Fund of DPCC,&quot; Hussain said in his letter.

READ THE FULL LETTER BELOW:

&nbsp;

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Delhi minister&#39;s letter to Harsh Vardhan (WION)
</div>
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&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Delhi registered a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/environment-minister-claims-very-good-air-quality-in-delhi-anand-vihar-continues-to-show-hazardous-aqi-22737">marginal drop in pollution levels</a> in days after Diwali, but many areas of the national capital have very poor air quality. With and Air Quality Index (AQI) of 569, the pollution levels at Delhi&#39;s Anand Vihar was marked&nbsp;&quot;Hazardous&quot; whereas the air quality at RK Puram and ITO was rated &quot;Very Unhealthy&quot; with 239 and 251&nbsp;(AQI) respectively.

This comes days after Harsh Vardhan tweeted to say that the&nbsp;air quality in Delhi has been very good this year.&nbsp;

&quot;We are on the right path,&#39;&#39; the minister said and added that good days have improved.

The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-refuses-to-lift-ban-on-firecrackers-in-delhi-ncr-says-its-an-experiment-for-1-year-22393">Supreme Court had recently banned sale of firecrackers</a>&nbsp;to regulate the pollution caused by crackers during Diwali this year.

Delhi registered a marginal drop in pollution levels in days after Diwali, but many areas of the national capital have very poor air quality.

Seeking assistance in lowering the pollution levels in the national capital, the Delhi government has written to the Centre asking for aerial sprinkling of water through helicopter. In a letter to Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan, Delhi’s Environment Minister Imran Hussain has said that Delhi government is ready to bear the cost of the exercise. "In view of the continuous poor air quality in Delhi, it is requested that your good office may kindly propose to Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India to carry out an exercise to sprinkle water aerially through helicopter/aircraft to settle particulate matters in Delhi. Government of NCT of Delhi is willing to bear the expenses from Air Ambience Fund of DPCC," Hussain said in his letter. READ THE FULL LETTER BELOW: Delhi minister's letter to Harsh Vardhan (WION) × Delhi registered a marginal drop in pollution levels in days after Diwali, but many areas of the national capital have very poor air quality. With and Air Quality Index (AQI) of 569, the pollution levels at Delhi's Anand Vihar was marked "Hazardous" whereas the air quality at RK Puram and ITO was rated "Very Unhealthy" with 239 and 251 (AQI) respectively. This comes days after Harsh Vardhan tweeted to say that the air quality in Delhi has been very good this year. "We are on the right path,'' the minister said and added that good days have improved. The Supreme Court had recently banned sale of firecrackers to regulate the pollution caused by crackers during Diwali this year.

To curb pollution, Delhi govt wants aerial sprinkling of water, ready to pay the bill

A Supreme Court-appointed watchdog has banned diesel sets in the national capital from Tuesday.

The move by the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) comes after the air quality index in Delhi fell to the &quot;very poor&quot; category and as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to improve Delhi&#39;s air quality during the high pollution winter kicked in, the Times of India reported.

The EPCA has also ensured a slew of other anti-pollution measures from Tuesday including the closure of the pollutant-emitting Badarpur thermal power plant, monitoring of trucks entering Delhi, mechanised sweeping of roads and the of brick kilns which do not use the zig-zag technology.

The ban on diesel gensets will remain in place till March 15, 2018, the report said.

Marketplaces, housing societies, malls and the upcoming wedding season will bear the brunt of the ban.

The ban will not apply to &quot;essential services&quot; such as hospitals, metro and mobile towers.

&quot;We already have a list of places which have applied for exemptions,&quot; environmentalist and EPCA member Sunita Narain was quoted as saying.&nbsp;

The full list of exemptions will be released today.

The move by the Environment Pollution Control Authority comes after the air quality index in Delhi fell to 'very poor'

A Supreme Court-appointed watchdog has banned diesel sets in the national capital from Tuesday. The move by the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) comes after the air quality index in Delhi fell to the "very poor" category and as the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) to improve Delhi's air quality during the high pollution winter kicked in, the Times of India reported. The EPCA has also ensured a slew of other anti-pollution measures from Tuesday including the closure of the pollutant-emitting Badarpur thermal power plant, monitoring of trucks entering Delhi, mechanised sweeping of roads and the of brick kilns which do not use the zig-zag technology. The ban on diesel gensets will remain in place till March 15, 2018, the report said. Marketplaces, housing societies, malls and the upcoming wedding season will bear the brunt of the ban. The ban will not apply to "essential services" such as hospitals, metro and mobile towers. "We already have a list of places which have applied for exemptions," environmentalist and EPCA member Sunita Narain was quoted as saying. The full list of exemptions will be released today.

Delhi: Pollution watchdog bans diesel generators till March 15