NEW DELHI

Twenty-eight-year-old Inderpal Singh, a salesman in Nehru Place, one of Asia’s largest electronics markets, in India’s capital, New Delhi, has been battling a persistent cough and a cold since the month of November. Despite taking over-the-counter medication, the relief was temporary, and Singh believes the cause of his illness is clear: the city’s worsening air pollution.

“I’ve been sick for a week now. Probably because of the bad air I breathe here,” Singh told Anadolu.

His story is shared by many in New Delhi, where thick, suffocating smog has engulfed the city, leading to a public health emergency and forcing authorities to implement drastic measures.

The capital, with a population of around 33 million, has long struggled with poor air quality, but the situation has reached new extremes in recent weeks. Air pollution levels have risen to more than 20 times the safety limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). Pollution, a deadly cocktail of particulates and industrial emissions, now causes widespread respiratory problems, eye irritation and other health problems.

On Monday morning, the air quality index (AQI) in New Delhi touched 484, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, indicating that the air was hazardous for everyone. Just the day before, the AQI ranged between 441 and 457, well above the “emergency” threshold of 301.

An AQI reading above 150 is considered unhealthy, signaling high levels of pollutants harmful to human health. When the AQI exceeds 300, it is classified as an emergency, posing a severe risk to all residents. With air quality at dangerous levels, the New Delhi government has been forced to take extreme measures.

In response to the crisis, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi Marlena Singh announced that all schools in the city would switch to online classes in an effort to reduce students’ exposure to toxic air.

Authorities have also banned non-essential construction work, restricted non-electric buses and ordered the impoundment of vehicles that do not meet pollution standards. The use of public transport has been encouraged and residents are advised to work from home whenever possible.

As part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), a series of increasing anti-pollution measures, the Air Quality Management Commission on Monday implemented stage 4 of the plan in the National Capital Region (NCR). GRAP is designed to activate strict measures when pollution levels reach critical thresholds, with the aim of reducing further environmental damage and reducing the immediate health risks posed by pollution.

In October, the city government sought the Union government’s approval to use cloud seeding to induce ‘artificial rain’ as an emergency measure to tackle pollution. However, experts have questioned the effectiveness of such measures, warning of potential side effects.

“By inducing artificial rain, you will be manipulating weather conditions over a large area and not just in a city,” said Mohan George, a former scientist at the Delhi Pollution Control Board.

“If they induce rain, it will wash away the pollution, but it may have other consequences, and such an exercise should be undertaken after a proper pilot study.”

– “Air pollution is a serious public health emergency”

Activists lament the “lack of seriousness” on the part of government authorities in tackling air pollution.

“Air pollution is a serious public health emergency, but I don’t see any government acting on it with the seriousness and urgency it requires,” said Jyoti Pande Lavakare, author of Breathing Here is Injurious Health and Your Health. co-founder of Care for Air, a non-profit organization working to raise awareness about air pollution.

“We claim to be progressing as an economy, but we are not able to provide clean air to the people,” she said.

Air pollution causes not only short-term illnesses such as coughs and colds, but also long-term damage, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. A recent Lancet study found that air pollution contributed to 1.6 million deaths in India in 2021, with fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas responsible for 38 percent of them.

The pollution has become so bad that Lavakare is now calling herself a “pollution refugee”, fleeing to other parts of the country to escape the smog. But she admits that not everyone can leave.

For millions of workers like Singh who depend on outdoor jobs, staying at home or leaving the city is not an option.

“If I stay at home, how will I feed my family?” said the father of two. “We will starve.”

His plight is echoed by Ram Singh, a construction worker from Kalkaji, a residential area in south Delhi, who is also struggling due to the construction ban.

“What will my family eat if I can’t work these days?” Singh asked, frustrated by the lack of revenue.

Similarly, Sumit Kumar, a 42-year-old rider who delivers food in the city, suffered eye irritation due to pollution. Despite this, he cannot afford to stop working.

“I work 10-12 hours a day to support my family,” Kumar said. “I’m not sure if the company cares about pollution; no one ever brings it up. If they would allow us to stay at home during the high pollution period and still pay us, we would be grateful.”

For informal economy workers like Kumar, the lack of employer support for the health risks of air pollution only exacerbates the crisis. Unlike employees in formal jobs, transporters, laborers and other workers in the informal sector are not entitled to paid sick leave or any pollution-related benefits.

Measures implemented by the government to address air pollution are steps in the right direction, said Sharanjeet Kaur, program officer at the Center for Science and Environment.

“However, given the persistent and increasing levels of PM (particulate matter) 2.5 observed this winter, these measures are not yet sufficient to achieve a significant and sustained improvement in air quality, as sustained solutions are needed on throughout the year to mitigate air pollution. “

The Supreme Court has criticized government authorities over the past six weeks for failing to curb air pollution in New Delhi. It reprimanded the state governments of Punjab, Haryana and the Center for Stubble Burning and New Delhi for not imposing a ban on firecrackers.

Kumar said the government should come up with policies to target pollution sources throughout the year, not just during winters.

He also said that a unified strategy among states is essential to tackle air pollution, with joint monitoring, stricter enforcement and coordinated action to effectively tackle transboundary pollution.

Earlier this month, the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province called on his Indian counterpart, suggesting that both nations join forces to tackle the growing environmental crisis.

Tanushree Ganguly, director of the Air Quality Life Index, pointed out that residents in South Asia could lose an average of 3.5 years of life to air pollution, with some areas such as Lahore and Delhi losing more than five years.

She told Anadolu that historical evidence has shown that cross-border programs targeting cross-border pollution have actually helped reduce pollution.

“For example, the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution has reduced harmful emissions by more than 80% since the 1990s, thanks to a common scientific understanding and a common monitoring and modeling infrastructure across Europe,” added Ganguly.​​​​ ​.​

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