Schools shut as toxic smog hits Delhi

NEW DELHI: Delhi shut all primary schools yesterday as pollution hit 70 times the World Health Organization’s safe level, prompting doctors in the Indian capital to warn of a public health emergency, reports AFP.

Dense grey smog shrouded the roads of the world’s most polluted capital, where many pedestrians and bikers wore masks or covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and scarves.

The US embassy website showed the concentration of PM 2.5 -- the microscopic particles that are the most damaging to health—topped 700 early on Wednesday morning, 70 times the WHO guidelines on long-term exposure, before dropping slightly.

“When I came to Delhi in 1984, the air in the city was clean. But today when I left at 4 am for work I could barely see anything,” said Jeevanand Joshi, a roadside tea seller.

“This is not fog, this is smoke, and it is certainly making us sick.”

The Indian Medical Association declared a public health emergency, urging administrators to “curb this menace”, while the Environment Pollution Authority warned that things were set to get worse in the coming days.

Schools shut as toxic smog hits Delhi

NEW DELHI: Delhi shut all primary schools yesterday as pollution hit 70 times the World Health Organizations safe level, prompting doctors in the Indian capital to warn of a public health emergency, reports AFP. Dense grey smog shrouded the roads of the worlds most polluted capital, where many pedestrians and bikers wore masks or covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and scarves. The US embassy website showed the concentration of PM 2.5 -- the microscopic particles that are the most damaging to healthtopped 700 early on Wednesday morning, 70 times the WHO guidelines on long-term exposure, before dropping slightly. When I came to Delhi in 1984, the air in the city was clean. But today when I left at 4 am for work I could barely see anything, said Jeevanand Joshi, a roadside tea seller. This is not fog, this is smoke, and it is certainly making us sick. The Indian Medical Association declared a public health emergency, urging administrators to curb this menace, while the Environment Pollution Authority warned that things were set to get worse in the coming days.