A thick, toxic haze blanketed New Delhi on Monday, October 20, as air pollution levels soared to more than 16 times the World Health Organization’s recommended daily maximum. The Indian capital and its wider metropolitan area, home to over 30 million people, are among the most polluted in the world, with smog enveloping the skyline each winter when cooler air traps pollutants from vehicle emissions, industry, and crop burning.
Pollution levels worsened this week following days of fireworks marking Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, which culminated Monday. Despite a Supreme Court decision allowing only “green firecrackers” designed to emit fewer particulates, the restrictions were widely ignored.
According to data from monitoring firm IQAir, levels of PM2.5—tiny, cancer-causing particles that can enter the bloodstream—reached 248 micrograms per cubic metre in some areas of the city. The government’s Commission of Air Quality Management said air quality is expected to deteriorate further in the coming days and has directed authorities to ensure continuous electricity supply to reduce the use of diesel generators.
Officials also plan to experiment with cloud seeding, firing chemicals into clouds to induce rainfall, to help clear the air. “We’ve already got everything we need to do the cloud seeding,” said Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, adding that flight trials and pilot training had been completed.
A study published in The Lancet Planetary Health last year estimated that 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 were linked to air pollution, while UNICEF has warned that toxic air exposes children to a higher risk of severe respiratory infections.