India’s worsening, “severe plus” air pollution forces even more dramatic safety measures
Millions of Americans live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution
04:21
New Delhi — Authorities in India’s sprawling capital city imposed even stricter emergency measures Monday in a bid to prevent illness as thick smog blanketed New Delhi. The air pollution was even worse, and considerably so, than last week, when the annual smog first descended.
Delhi’s air quality Index (AQI) — a measure of the severity of air pollution based on the levels of five toxins — shot up to 499 in some places Monday morning. That meant a categorization of “severe plus” on India’s System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) scale, and “hazardous” under the U.S. AQI measurement system.
The thick smog never lifted Monday, even as night descended. It disrupted dozens of flights and trains as visibility remained low all around the capital.
India’s Commission for Air Quality Management announced on Monday it had implemented stage 4 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) — bringing the strictest emergency measures offered to mitigate the impacts and try to reduce pollution.
sees a major spike in air pollution every very winter due to several factors, including the burning of farm waste or “stubble” in the adjoining states of Haryana and Punjab. Fireworks and climatological factors also contribute to the smog.
Source: cbsnews.com