Worsening levels of air pollution engulfing the Indian capital of Delhi have prompted city authorities to shut all schools and colleges indefinitely, and impose a temporary ban on most construction projects.
Only five of the 11 coal-based power plants in the city have been allowed to operate.
The BBC reports that pollution in the city has become so dire that it prompted a stern warning from India’s Supreme Court, which directed state and federal governments to take ‘imminent and emergency’ measures to tackle the problem.
Following the hearing, Delhi’s Commission for Air Quality Management announced the emergency measures.
Other measures include a ban on trucks entering Delhi and the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan until 21 November, except those carrying essential commodities.
The Commission also directed Delhi and other states to ‘encourage’ private offices to allow 50% of their employees to work from home during the period to cut down vehicle emissions and dust levels.
According to the BBC, a combination of vehicular and industrial emissions, dust and weather patterns make Delhi the world’s most polluted capital. The air turns especially toxic in the winter months as farmers in neighbouring states burn crop stubble. And fireworks during the festival of Diwali, which happens at the same time, only worsen the air quality. Low wind speed also plays a part as it traps the pollutants in the lower atmosphere.
Air quality in Delhi has been hovering between “severe” and “hazardous” for several days now.
The BBC cites a report by US research group, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC), as saying that Indian cities routinely dominate global pollution rankings, and bad air kills more than a million people every year.