Not good for youDELHI-WALLAHS expect a spike in pollution during the autumn festival of Diwali, which is famed for its exuberant fireworks. This year the city’s bad-air index did indeed shoot up during the night-time revelry. But then, as winds died, the air chilled, smoke from the burning of rice stubble in surrounding farmland drifted in and the city’s thick traffic resumed, the index failed to go down again.
Delhi’s annual average measure of PM2.5, a fine dust that is the most toxic component of its pollution, stands at 122 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), about double Beijing’s annual average. On Diwali and ten succeeding days this year, Delhi’s air was clogged with averages of well over 500µg/m³, with peaks of up to 1,000µg/m³. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the “safe” PM2.5 level is a mere 25µg/m³ over 24 hours.
Like miners drilling underground
With the city’s 20m sneezing inhabitants complaining of sore eyes, itchy throats, headaches and fatigue, one trade association estimated that 5-10% of employees across Delhi were calling in sick. Dense fog caused...Continue reading
from Asia http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21710007-politicians-bicker-capital-chokes-worse-beijing?fsrc=rss
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