The city of 20 million people, one of the most polluted in the world, is submerged every winter in a dense layer of toxic fog.
New Delhi decreed the closure of schools until further notice, urging people to telecommute and banning access to trucks of non-essential goods, to contain dangerous levels of pollution in the Indian capital.
The city of 20 million people, one of the most polluted in the world, is submerged every winter in a dense layer of toxic fog.
On Saturday, New Delhi authorities ordered the closure of schools for a week and banned construction work for four days.
But in an order issued Tuesday night, the Air Quality Management Commission said the shutdown should be maintained until further notice.
This body also prohibited the entry of non-essential trucks until November 21, the cessation of operations of six of the 11 thermal plants within a radius of 300 kilometers and imposed teleworking on 50% of public workforce, encouraging private firms to follow the same example.
This order comes days after the Delhi government rejected a request from the Supreme Court of India to declare for the first time a “pollution lockdown”, restricting the movement of the population.
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This week, the level of pollution by PM 2.5 particles, the most harmful and responsible for chronic diseases of the lungs and heart, exceeded concentrations of 400 micrograms per cubic meter in different areas of the city.
Last week, the level reached 500, which is 30 times the limit recommended by the World Health Organization.
A report published in The Lancet In 2020 it said that at least 17,500 people died in New Delhi in 2019 due to air pollution.
A 2020 study by the Swiss organization IQAir indicated that 22 of the 30 most polluted cities in the world were in India. (I)
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