Smog in New Delhi (archive image)
Photo: PRAKASH SINGH / AFP
In India's capital New Delhi, all schools were closed on Thursday due to dangerously high levels of smog.
The city government responded to pressure from the Supreme Court, which ordered the authorities to take action against the massive air pollution.
The Chief Justice NV Ramana called it "disrespectful" that "small children have to go to class in the morning haze".
He urged the government to reduce vehicle emissions and industrial pollution.
The judge gave the authorities 24 hours.
According to the company IQAir, the harmful particulate matter pollution in New Delhi was more than 14 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization on Thursday.
The schools were only reopened on Monday after being closed for several weeks due to air pollution.
The city administration had justified the resumption of classes by saying that the air quality had improved.
New Delhi, a metropolis of 20 million people, is one of the dirtiest cities in the world.
Farmers from the surrounding area, among others, are contributing to the current high level of air pollution, as they burn off harvest residues on their fields at the beginning of winter.
According to a report by the science magazine "The Lancet", almost 17,500 people died in Delhi in 2019 as a result of air pollution.
him / AFP