Air pollution blights India’s capital

Air pollution blights India’s capital

Advertisement

A smoky haze hangs over India's northern plains and its capital, New Delhi, every year as winter sets in, raising fears for the health of many millions of people as authorities order fixes that do little to clear the air.

In recent days, the Air Quality Index in the capital of 20 million people, where few use air purifiers or wear masks to protect themselves, has risen above 350 on a scale of 500, near "very poor" levels, according to the SAFAR monitoring agency.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi
People walk in front of Humayun's Tomb under morning smog in New Delhi, India.

Anything above 60 is considered unhealthy.

The index measures levels of airborne PM2.5 particles that can be carried deep into the lungs, causing deadly diseases including cancer and cardiac problems.

The rainy season usually ends in September and come October, the air quality starts deteriorating as cooler temperatures and a drop in the wind trap pollutants in the atmosphere for longer.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi
A girl waits for her friends to go to school amidst the morning smog in New Delhi, India.

The index measures levels of airborne PM2.5 particles that can be carried deep into the lungs, causing deadly diseases including cancer and cardiac problems.

The rainy season usually ends in September and come October, the air quality starts deteriorating as cooler temperatures and a drop in the wind trap pollutants in the atmosphere for longer.

The pollution gets worse in November, exacerbated by the burning of crop stubble in Punjab and Haryana states, part of the farm belt that borders New Delhi.

. Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi
A Hindu man walks after praying as heavy morning smog covers the bank of the river Yamuna, in the old quarters of Delhi, India.

Farmers in the bread-basket states are at the forefront of the adoption of mechanised farming, and are increasingly using harvesters to bring in the rice crop.

But unlike with manual harvesting, the machines leave stubble and paddy straw in the field.

Farmers, with only a short window to prepare their fields for winter crops, burn off the stubble and straw, sending sooty smoke drifting from the land and accounting for about a quarter of north India's air pollution, experts say.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi
A man bathes outside his house under morning smog on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

New Delhi generates much of its own pollution so things get no better in December, when the stubble burning is largely over.

The capital's nearly 10 million vehicles, more than the other three major cities of Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata combined, churn out exhaust fumes while industrial emissions, dust from construction sites and smoke from household fires adds to the murky mix.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi
A washerman loads laundry onto a cart amidst the morning smog, on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

The rapidly expanding city is losing the few patches of oxygen-producing forest it had around it and illegal miners are grinding down a range of nearby hills to feed the construction industry with gravel, and removing a natural barrier to dust from the Thar Desert.

When the smog gets too bad, authorities ban construction work and close schools to protect children but they acknowledge they just don't have the resources to clamp down effectively on illegal industries and to enforce emission rules.

. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi
Hindu devotees gather to worship the Sun God in heavy smog in the early morning during the Hindu religious festival of Chatth Puja, on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

The Supreme Court has rebuked officials for their failure to clear the air and has asked the government of Delhi, its neighbouring states and federal authorities to work together to improve it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party does not govern Delhi - it is run by the opposition Aam Aadmi Party - and there's little cooperation between them.

It's nature that brings some improvement with warmer weather ending the atmospheric conditions that trap the smog before the return of the rains in around June.

(Photography by Adnan Abidi; Reporting and writing by Mayank Bhardwaj; Photo editing by Gabrielle Fonseca Johnson; Text editing by Robert Birsel; Layout by Marta Montana Gomez)

1 / 17

Slideshow

A farmer walks in the morning smog in a field on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A farmer walks in the morning smog in a field on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

People play cricket as heavy smog sets in a field in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

People play cricket as heavy smog sets in a field in New Delhi, India.

Hindu devotees gather to worship the Sun God amidst heavy smog in the early morning during the Hindu religious festival of Chatth Puja, on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Hindu devotees gather to worship the Sun God amidst heavy smog in the early morning during the Hindu religious festival of Chatth Puja, on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

Students from a slum area attend an open-air class in the morning smog, on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Students from a slum area attend an open-air class in the morning smog, on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

A man walks amongst heavy smog after taking a bath in the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.
. Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A man walks amongst heavy smog after taking a bath in the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

A couple poses during a pre-wedding photoshoot as the morning smog shrouds the bank of the Yamuna river in the old quarters of Delhi, India.
. Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A couple poses during a pre-wedding photoshoot as the morning smog shrouds the bank of the Yamuna river in the old quarters of Delhi, India.

A man washes his clothes on smoggy morning in the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A man washes his clothes on smoggy morning in the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

A man sails his boat under heavy smog in the Yamuna river, in the old quarters of Delhi, India.
. Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A man sails his boat under heavy smog in the Yamuna river, in the old quarters of Delhi, India.

Residential buildings under construction are seen shrouded in heavy smog in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India.
. Noida, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Residential buildings under construction are seen shrouded in heavy smog in Noida, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India.

A bird flies next to the smog-covered Akshardham temple in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A bird flies next to the smog-covered Akshardham temple in New Delhi, India.

Indian Army soldiers stand guard in the heavy smog under the statue of Subhas Chandra Bose behind the India Gate in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Indian Army soldiers stand guard in the heavy smog under the statue of Subhas Chandra Bose behind the India Gate in New Delhi, India.

A woman sleeps in a field under afternoon smog on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A woman sleeps in a field under afternoon smog on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

Farmers work in a field amidst afternoon smog on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Farmers work in a field amidst afternoon smog on the bank of the Yamuna river in New Delhi, India.

People walk through heavy smog outside their homes on the Yamuna river bed in New Delhi, India.
. Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

People walk through heavy smog outside their homes on the Yamuna river bed in New Delhi, India.

A car drives past the India Gate amidst heavy smog in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

A car drives past the India Gate amidst heavy smog in New Delhi, India.

Traffic moves slowly amidst smog on a flyover in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Traffic moves slowly amidst smog on a flyover in New Delhi, India.

Traffic moves along a highway under haze and smog in New Delhi, India.
. New Delhi, India. Reuters/Adnan Abidi

Traffic moves along a highway under haze and smog in New Delhi, India.