The Chief Minister of New Delhi (India), Arvind Kejriwal, announced Saturday, November 13 the closure of schools for a week from Monday due to massive pollution affecting the Indian capital. Containment is even envisaged in order to best protect the population of the city.
With its many factories, heavy road traffic and agricultural fires, New Delhi was voted the most polluted capital in the world according to a report by the Swiss organization IQAir published in 2020.
Affected by a significant cloud of pollution, the city of more than 20 million inhabitants noted on Saturday a sharp increase in the levels of PM 2.5 particles, the most harmful since they can enter the bloodstream. The figure was 20 times higher than the maximum daily limit recommended by the World Health Organization.
According to The Times of India, local hospitals have seen a sharp rise in the number of patients with breathing difficulties after this episode of pollution.
Privileged teleworking
From Friday, the Central Pollution Control Bureau urged residents to “limit outdoor activities” because the poor air quality is expected to last until Thursday, November 18 due to “weak winds and conditions. calm during the night ”.
Other measures in this direction have been taken, such as the stopping of construction work from Sunday 14 to Wednesday 17 November. In this vein, recourse to teleworking should also be favored as much as possible, whether for civil servants or private companies.
Containment under study
In the event of a deterioration in the pollution-related situation in the Indian capital, containment could be implemented, as the Supreme Court suggested on Saturday.
Arvind Kejriwal announced that his government would examine this proposal after consulting various stakeholders. “Containment due to pollution has never taken place before. It will be an extreme measure ”, explained the chief minister of New Delhi.
A giant air purifier installed
Earlier this year, the Indian capital government unveiled its first giant air purifier, with 40 fans pumping 1,000 cubic meters of air per second with its filters.
Created for two million dollars, this facility has halved the amount of harmful particles in the air, according to its engineers. The only downside: it only acted within a radius of one square kilometer, which is far from sufficient for the immense pollution hitting New Delhi.