Schools in New Delhi will be closed from Saturday due to “dangerous” levels of air pollution from agricultural burning in northern India, officials said on Friday.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters, “We are closing primary schools from tomorrow (Saturday) until the pollution situation improves.
“No child should suffer in any way,” he stressed.
The level of PM 2.5 particles, the most dangerous, was 25 times higher than the maximum level set by the World Health Organization on Friday, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.
Every winter, along with cold winds, a yellow, toxic smog fueled by agricultural burns, industrial emissions and road traffic settles over the metropolis of 20 million people.
Delhi continues to rank among the most polluted cities in the world. On Friday, it topped IQAir’s list of major cities with the oldest air.
In 2020, according to a Lancet study, air pollution accounted for 1.67 million deaths in India in 2019, including nearly 17,500 deaths in the capital.
Delhi authorities keep announcing various schemes to reduce pollution, but they have little effect.
Agricultural burning is banned in principle in Punjab and other states, but farmers are unmoved by calls for cleaner practices.
Agricultural burning was responsible for one-third of Delhi’s air pollution on Thursday, India’s air quality watchdog said.
The situation has taken a political turn as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a rival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), rules the Indian capital and Punjab.
“Now is not the time to blame and throw accusations,” said Mr Kejriwal, flanked by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan.
“It doesn’t help us find solutions. We can blame them and they can blame us, but that will not lead anywhere,” he said, referring to BJP’s criticism.
“Farmers need a solution. The day they get a solution, they will stop burning lime,” he added.
On Wednesday, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav from the BJP lamented on Twitter that “Aam Aadmi-ruled state Punjab has 19% higher agricultural burning compared to 2021”.
We know who will turn Delhi into a gas chamber.
