DELHI  –  Air pollution in India’s capital Delhi has soared to extremely severe levels, choking residents and engulfing the city in thick smog. Monitors recorded pollution levels of 1,500 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 15:00 IST (09:30 BST), according to tech company IQAir – 15 times the level the Word Health Organization (WHO) considers satisfactory for breathing.

The toxic air has disrupted flight services, and had already prompted authorities to shut schools and ban construction work in the city. It comes just weeks after Lahore, in neighbouring Pakistan, also recorded pollution levels above 1,000. And experts warn that the situation could get worse in Delhi in the coming days, saying more severe measures may be needed to combat the city’s pollution problem.

According to the WHO, air with AQI values above 300 are considered to be hazardous for health. India’s pollution control authority has classified the air in Delhi as “severe plus”, after the city passed 450 according to its measurements on Monday morning. As well as shutting schools and banning construction work, the city has also banned the entry of non-essential trucks into Delhi and has asked all offices to ask 50% of their staff to work from home.

Last week, the government banned all activities that involve the use of coal and firewood, as well as diesel generator use for non-emergency services. Every year, Delhi, India’s northern states and parts of Pakistan battle hazardous air during the winter months of October to January due to plummeting temperatures, smoke, dust, low wind speed, vehicular emissions and crop stubble burning.

And every year, the government imposes pollution control measures during these months. Yet, Delhi’s pollution problem hasn’t gone away. On Monday, Delhi’s Chief Minister Atishi said that all of northern India was experiencing a “medical emergency” due to stubble burning continuing unchecked across the country, particularly in the neighbouring states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

She accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of not taking steps to curb the practice despite the problem intensifying over the past five years. The BJP, in turn, has blamed Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party for not being able to put a check to pollution in the city. Meanwhile, Delhi’s residents continue to gasp for air. (BBC)

Photo: Delhi is enveloped in a thick blanket of smog on most mornings. (Reuters) …[+]