Delhi becomes the most polluted major city in the world
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Club of Mozambique
Delhi was ranked first among major world cities for air pollution, with an index of 581 according to IQAir on Saturday morning. The Indian capital was bracing for a sharp deterioration before Diwali, while authorities recommended online classes and remote working, Reuters reports.
Indian authorities have ordered schools in and around Delhi to offer online classes and encouraged remote working before Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights due on Sunday. The measures come as the Indian capital faced high concentrations of pollutants, according to Reuters.
At 10:35 local time on Saturday, the Swiss group IQAir showed an air quality index of 581 for Delhi, against 285 for Lahore, in Pakistan. The IQAir index is based on pollutant concentrations and is not directly comparable to the official Indian index, which uses a different scale and methodology. The Central Pollution Control Board, the Indian body responsible for measuring air pollution, put Delhi's index at 363 at 10:00, in the "very poor" category, according to Reuters.
Air quality recorded in Delhi on Friday was the worst before Diwali in eight years, according to local media citing official data. The widespread use of firecrackers during the festival is expected to worsen pollution, while winter cold is already encouraging the accumulation of vehicle emissions, construction dust and smoke from the burning of agricultural residues in northern India, according to Reuters.
