Public health emergency in Delhi as air pollution crosses “severe plus” level, schools closed till Tuesday

A panel set up by the Supreme Court on Friday declared a public health emergency in the Delhi-National Capital Region and all construction work has been stopped till November 5. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that all schools will remain closed till Tuesday.

Air pollution level in Delhi crossed the “severe plus” level on Thursday night, reading 468 at 10 am on Friday morning, the Central Pollution Control Board has reported. Pollution in the city reached such an alarming level that the state government started distributing masks to the children in both private and government schools. The government has purchased 50 lakh masks with each child getting two masks.

The city is still covered with thick smog even after Diwali. The news of Delhi recording the highest pollution level in recent times came post Diwali night when the city got covered by a thick, toxic haze.
A public health emergency has been declared by the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) for the Delhi-NCR region and the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter on Friday morning to call the state a gas chamber: “Delhi has turned into a gas chamber due to smoke from crop burning in neighbouring states. It is very imp that we protect ourselves from this toxic air. Through pvt & govt schools, we have started distributing 50 lakh masks today. I urge all Delhiites to use them whenever needed.”

The CM pointed out that the widespread stubble burning in adjacent states of Punjab, Haryana and UP as the main cause behind this pollution. He said that available data showed that factors for such unprecedented pollution were already present in the air of the city from 15 days before Diwali. Thus, the bursting of crackers in the city could not be held as the main culprit behind this widespread pollution. Experts have also said that stubble burning has contributed to the thick smog in the city over the past week.

Although the Centre has provided 50-80 per cent subsidy to farmers to convert the stubble into fertilizers instead of resorting to burning it, the farmers say that the subsidy is not sufficient to purchase such expensive machinery and hence resort to burning the stubble.