New Delhi: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti today compared Delhi's air pollution to the polluted air of Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s. He said that the air quality in Delhi on some days is so bad that it reminds him of growing up in Los Angeles, when children were warned not to go outside to play.
Mr Garcetti's comments come as the national capital is grappling with a severe air pollution crisis. Delhi's air quality remained severe today, with a smoky haze blanketing the city for the third day in a row.
"On a day like this in Delhi, it brings back memories of growing up in Los Angeles where the air was the most polluted air anywhere in America. Where like today, we were given warnings by our teachers that you cannot go outside to play, just as my daughter was given by her teacher today as I dropped her off to school," Mr Garcetti said.
As farm fires rage and unfavorable weather persists, scientists fear a sharp rise in pollution levels in the Delhi-NCR region over the next two weeks. The air quality index in many areas has already exceeded 400. Medical professionals fear that soaring pollution levels will worsen asthma and lung problems in children and seniors.
Delhi's air quality index has been deteriorating in recent days, reaching 351 at 10 am today, with a high of 364 on Wednesday and a low of 261 on Friday. Several areas in Delhi, including Punjabi Bagh, Bawana, Mundka, and Anand Vihar, recorded severe air quality readings with AQI exceeding 400. PM2.5 levels in these areas were six to seven times the safe limit, reaching up to 420 micrograms per cubic meter.
Delhi's environment minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday announced a five-day ban on construction work in areas with an AQI above 400.
In an effort to reduce vehicular pollution, the government has launched the "Red Light On Gaadi Off" campaign and will hire 1,000 private CNG buses to bolster public transportation.
Neighboring cities recorded AQI levels ranging from 230 in Ghaziabad and Gurugram to 344 in Greater Noida, with Faridabad reporting the highest level of 324.