World - Asia
Updated: November 04, 2022

India: New Delhi To Shut Schools As Over Toxic Smog

By Quadri Adejumo
November 04, 2022
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India's capital New Delhi will shut primary schools to protect children from the toxic smog choking the megacity of 20 million people, authorities said on Friday.

Smoke from farmers burning crop stubble, vehicle exhaust and factory emissions combine every winter to blanket the capital in a deadly grey haze.

On Friday, levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles – so tiny they can enter the bloodstream were almost 25 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said primary schools would be closed from Saturday until "the pollution situation improves."

Delhi is frequently ranked as one of the world's most polluted cities. On Friday, it again topped IQAir's list of major cities with the worst air quality.

A Lancet study in 2020 attributed 1.67 million deaths to air pollution in India during the previous year, including almost 17,500 in the capital.