NEW DELHI ¨C Many Delhi residents were forced to spend Christmas indoors this year as air quality remained at ¡°severe to emergency¡± levels for a fourth day, in the Indian capital¡¯s worst smog crisis this year.
Senior officials predicted the severe pollution would last another three days due to unusually stagnant and cold air. They issued a three-day emergency response on Monday that included closing area factories and banning construction work.
¡°We are preferring to stay at home due to pollution despite Christmas celebrations and a public holiday,¡± said Amit Azad, a financial consultant. He bought an air purifier this week after developing a cough because of the smog.
A Delhi government official blamed the pollution for lighter-than-usual traffic on already holiday-thinned streets, while a Delhi airport official said some domestic and international flights were delayed for up to two hours due to poor visibility.
Delhi¡¯s air quality index, which measures the concentration of poisonous particulate matter, averaged 420 on Tuesday morning, slightly better than 449-450 the previous two days ¡ª the worst this year ¡ª data from the government¡¯s Central Pollution Control Board showed. A reading above 100 is considered unhealthy.
Delhi is ranked among the world¡¯s worst cities in air quality, after years of breakneck growth in auto sales and coal-fired power generation.
Environmentalists say the federal and city governments, while focusing on temporary responses, are side-stepping more effective, long-term measures that would hit at the sources of pollution and promote cleaner fuels.
¡°There is a lack of political will to take required measures on a sustained basis to contain pollution levels,¡± said Sunil Dahiya, a senior campaigner with Greenpeace India. He called for higher car parking fees and reduced dependence on coal-fired power plants.
Dahiya also said the government should immediately close down schools and urge people to curtail outdoor activities given the serious health effects of the current pollution levels.
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