One-month-old Ayansh Tiwari lies crying in a hospital bed wearing an aerosol mask, doctors say he has a bad cough due to air pollution in New Delhi.
In recent days, primary schools in the Indian capital have been closed, many people with difficulty breathing have rushed to the hospital, while the wealthy have fled the city "suffocating" from air pollution.
The emergency room at New Delhi’s Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya hospital is packed with children struggling to breathe. Many have asthma or pneumonia, as air pollution peaks every winter in the megacity of 30 million people.
"Everywhere you look, you see toxic smoke," said Julie Tiwari, 26. "I try to close the doors and windows as tightly as possible, but it's like breathing in toxic smoke all the time. I feel so helpless," she said, fighting back tears.
A one-month-old baby at Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya Hospital in New Delhi on November 7. Photo: AFP
In recent days, the air quality index (AQI) in the Indian capital region has reached 450, 100 times the health limit, as farmers in neighboring states burn stubble ahead of the new planting season. Other sources of pollution include factory burning, car exhaust, and construction sites.
Health experts advise people to avoid walking in the early morning and late evening, when air quality is at its worst. The elderly, children under five, patients with respiratory diseases and pregnant women are among the most vulnerable groups, doctors say.
"I have had to tape the windows in every room and not let my six-year-old son play outside. I am eight months pregnant, what will happen to his tiny lungs in such toxic air?" said Nina Kapoor, a 32-year-old architect in New Delhi.
New Delhi, the capital of India, is shrouded in smog on November 7. Photo: SCMP
People in the Indian capital joke that smokers don’t need to waste money on cigarettes. All they need to do is step outside and breathe in the toxic air equivalent to smoking 30 cigarettes a day.
“Some patients are wondering whether they should leave the city because the situation is really bad. When asked about how to protect their children, all I can advise is to buy an air purifier, seal the windows,” said Dr. Anita Nayyar.
A couple helps their child use a ventilator at a hospital in New Delhi on November 7. Photo: AFP
Authorities are restricting truck traffic into the city and banning diesel vehicles. Starting next week, New Delhi will control traffic on an “odd-even” schedule, allowing cars with odd-numbered plates to drive on odd days and cars with even-numbered plates to drive on even days.
All construction sites in the capital have also been suspended. Half of government employees have been asked to work from home.
Some rain has helped to ease the smog over the past two days, but air quality remains poor. "Despite the rain, we are still facing some respiratory problems," said a local resident.
Frustration still prevails in the region as the government fails to find a long-term solution to air pollution. Delhi has introduced several measures, such as spraying water to reduce dust on the streets and building two 24-meter-high “air purification towers” worth $4 million, but they have been deemed ineffective.
"I used to love winter, it was the most beautiful time of the year in India when the sun was mild. But now everyone is locked inside. And that's the rich group, while the poor have no choice but to go out to earn their daily living," said Arvind Gill, a retired teacher in Delhi.
Duc Trung (According to SCMP, Hindustan Times )
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