In the Indian capital, the horizon is barely visible.
For ten days, a thick toxic fog encompasses temples and buildings, the air has almost become unbreathable.
"
My eyes are burning and when I gargle with hot salt water, as my doctor advised me to clean my throat, I spit black,
" says a taxi driver, according to comments. reported by
Le Monde
.
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Since Monday, schools have been closed for a week "
so that children do not have to breathe polluted air
," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.
Residents could face further restrictions to cope with the crisis.
"How are we going to be able to live?"
In the capital, fine particle levels were about 20 times higher than the maximum daily limit recommended by the WHO on Saturday. On November 11 and 12, New Delhi's air pollution even recorded the season high, 471 on a measurement scale of 500. Hospitals have reported a sharp increase in the number of patients complaining of breathing difficulties, a the
Times of India
daily reported
. “
We see 12-14 patients a day in the emergency room, mostly at night, when symptoms cause sleep disturbances and panic,
” Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee of Apollo Hospitals told the newspaper.
An unprecedented situation which led justice to take the initiative to suggest confinement to the capital of 20 million inhabitants. The Supreme Court thus demanded the taking of important measures such as the confinement of the population or the stopping of automobile traffic during a hearing Saturday, November 13. “
Even inside the houses, we are forced to wear masks. The situation is extremely serious
(…).
Take immediate and urgent action. Impose a two-day lockdown, if necessary otherwise how are we going to be able to live?
Said Chief Justice NV Ramana.
The government's response was quick.
Shortly after the Supreme Court hearing, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced the closure for a week of all government offices and schools, as well as the halt of construction work for four days until 'to November 20.
Civil servants are teleworking while private companies have been urged to do so as much as possible.
Read also New Delhi in the hell of air pollution
However, the crisis could have been anticipated by the government.
In the most polluted city in the world, the air quality in the territory has deteriorated severely every winter for about ten years, with dangerous levels of fine particles.
The pollution fog that envelops the capital in winter comes mainly from smoke from agricultural burns in neighboring states but also from car traffic and waste that accompany the great Hindu festival of Divali.
An inevitable confinement?
“
Containment due to pollution has never taken place before. It will be an extreme measure
, ”said the chief minister of New Delhi. However, the government has promised to study the issue. In a request presented to the court on Monday, the local government argues that such an initiative would only make "
sense
" if surrounding states were involved. "
Containment would have a limited impact on air quality
The Delhi government said, conceding that industry was primarily responsible for pollution followed by transport and dust from roads and construction sites. According to him, agricultural burns represent only 4% of fine PM2.5 particles in the city where their level climbed last week to 500, more than 30 times the maximum limit set by the World Health Organization. Car traffic is the main culprit in the deterioration of air quality. A study by the Indian Institute of Meteorology reveals that the twelve million vehicles circulating in Delhi are the main cause of air pollution, causing 1.6 million deaths per year in India, as reported by
Le World
.
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However, solutions have been put in place to improve air quality in the Indian capital.
Earlier this year, New Delhi inaugurated its first giant air purifier containing 40 fans that pump 1,000 cubic meters of air per second through filters.
The $ 2 million facility halves the amount of harmful particles in the air, but only within a square kilometer radius, engineers say.
The Indian capital is therefore not yet safe from smog.