India tightens curbs as air pollution turns ‘severe’

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India has tightened restrictions aimed at helping the public cope with pollution twice in 24 hours for New Delhi and its surrounding regions after a deterioration in air quality.

The latest recommendations for Tuesday were issued late Monday after the air quality index (AQI) reading rose above 400 on a scale of 0 to 500, turning ‘severe’. That prompted an emergency meeting of the government body tasked with managing pollution.

Earlier on Monday, the recommendations for hybrid classes – both online and in-person – were limited to classes up to grade 5 but were later extended to all classes except grades 10 and 12.

An initial directive that government offices stagger work hours was also broadened to a request that all offices allow 50% of employees to work from home.

The AQI was 424 in New Delhi on Tuesday morning. The temperature also dropped to 5.9 degrees Celsius (43°F), leaving the city shrouded in a toxic haze and prompting the initiation of “low visibility procedures” at the airport.

The Commission for Air Quality Management attributed the “steep rise” in pollution to “highly unfavourable meteorological conditions and absolute calm wind”. It also ordered a ban on most building work.

It recommended that children, the elderly and those with respiratory, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or other chronic diseases should avoid outdoor activities and stay indoors as much as possible.

North India experiences severe pollution every winter as temperatures drop and cold air traps emissions, construction dust, and smoke from farm fires set off illegally in the agricultural states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Delhi recorded its highest pollution for this season last month when the AQI touched 494.

The country’s top court has also taken up the matter and in October it defined living in a pollution-free environment as a “fundamental right” that governments will have to address.

(Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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