DELHI: Residents of northern states of India on Tuesday faced another day of poor air quality, as a layer of toxic fog covered most of the region, while pollution level in Delhi remained severe.
India grapples with air pollution every winter as cold, dust, emissions, and smoke from illegal farm fires in the states of Punjab and Haryana have become a permanent feature.
According to IQAir data which tracks real-time data on air quality worldwide, the Air Quality Index in Delhi touched a peak of 543 in New Delhi on Tuesday.
IQAir ranked New Delhi as the world’s most polluted city with air quality at a “hazardous”. India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has recorded at least five areas in New Delhi with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 500.
The AQI reading from, 0-50 is regarded as ‘good’, from 50-100 is ‘moderate’, 100-150 is ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups’ (including children), 151-200 is ‘unhealthy’, 201-300 is ‘very unhealthy’, and 301-500 is ‘hazardous’.
India’s weather department has said a shift in the layer of thick towards the state of Uttar Pradesh improved some visibility in Delhi. Visibility dropped to zero meters in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Agra, which is located in southeast Delhi. India’s famed monument, the Taj Mahal, has been hidden under a thick layer of dense smog for nearly a week.
Millions of people die each year from air pollution-related health issues. UNICEF reports that nearly 600 million children in South Asia are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution, with half of all childhood pneumonia deaths linked to it.
According to UNICEF, every year, air pollution is estimated to cause the deaths of 130,000 children under the age of five in South Asia.
It is pertinent to mention that India’s Supreme Court last month ruled that clean air was a fundamental human right, ordering both the central government and state-level authorities to take action.
