
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Air quality in New Delhi dropped to its worst level this year on Monday—with pollutant levels reaching more than 150 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended safe levels—as local authorities enacted an emergency response plan, including shutting down schools, halting the entry of nearly all trucks and a ban on all construction activities.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.iqair.com/in-en/india/delhi%5C" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">According to IQ Air</a>, New Delhi’s Air Quality Index, which measures the level of air pollution, surged past 1,700 on Monday—more than five times above the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">“hazardous” benchmark</a>&nbsp;where even healthy individuals are likely to experience adverse effects.</p>



<p>The pollution level was so severe on Monday that the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi—which uses the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow chart—<a href="https://in.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/new-delhi/air-quality-data/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">rated the conditions</a>&nbsp;“Beyond the AQI” on its hourly tracker as it registered levels above 1,600.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="699" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-63705" style="width:644px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233-768x524.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><strong><em>India Gate is covered in a thick layer of pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 13, 2024 (Photo by Bilal Kuchay/NurPhoto via Getty Images).</em></strong></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The national pollution control authority rated the conditions in Delhi as “severe plus” and&nbsp;<a href="https://caqm.nic.in/WriteReadData/LINKS/GRAP%20Stage%20IV%20Order%20dated%2017112024272e205d-f42e-4106-932a-0514c584dfd7.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ordered the enforcement</a>&nbsp;of stage 4 of a graded response action plan, which is the highest level emergency response and allows for the most stringent curbs on vehicles and construction work.</p>



<p>The Delhi Government ordered all schools to switch over to online classes and issued bans on key sources of pollution, including the entry of trucks carrying non-essential goods into the city, the operation of older diesel vehicles on the road and all construction activities.</p>



<p>The national capital city was blanketed by a thick layer of smog—a toxic mix of fog and smoke—that dropped&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/dense-smog-leaves-delhi-choking-as-aqi-in-severe-plus-category-visibility-down-to-100m-101731903642563.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">visibility levels</a>&nbsp;to around 100 meters.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is Causing Delhi’s Pollution?</h2>



<p>Severe pollution levels have become a recurring problem for India’s capital and other major North Indian cities during the winter—when the dense fog-laden air mixes with toxic smoke and other pollutants. As with every year, the issue has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/video/bjp-distributes-masks-in-delhi-as-air-pollution-crisis-deepens-862172" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">triggered</a>&nbsp;a political&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/atishi-targets-centre-on-stubble-burning-amid-delhis-air-emergency-7045044" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">blame game</a>&nbsp;between the national government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Delhi government led by the rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/farm-fires-continue-to-pollute-delhis-air-despite-decrease-in-incidents/articleshow/115062410.cms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">According to</a>&nbsp;the national air quality monitoring agency SAFAR, nearly 40% of Delhi’s pollution can be attributed to the illegal burning of crop residues in neighboring states like Punjab and Haryana after harvest season. Efforts to crack down on farm fires have failed, as stubble burning is usually quicker and cheaper than manual or machine removal—which the government is trying to financially incentivize.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">News Peg</h2>



<p>The levels of PM 2.5 pollutants—airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can enter the lungs and cause several diseases—across the city peaked above 950 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday, according to IQAir’s tracker. According to the World Health Organization, the recommended annual average exposure to PM2.5 matter should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



<p>214. That is the total number of both arriving and departing flights, which have faced delays at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flightaware.com/live/cancelled" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;FlightAware. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/DelhiAirport/status/1858389088614613391" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement on X</a>&nbsp;at noon, the Delhi Airport said its “low visibility procedures are still in progress and flight operations may get affected.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tangent</h2>



<p>NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, which tracks fires using satellite imagery, showed&nbsp;<a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;l:fires_all,earth;@74.6,32.1,5.7z" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">several active blazes</a>&nbsp;across the state of Punjab in the past 24 hours. Last month, a&nbsp;<a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/spso/bio/hiren.t.jethva" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Senior Research Scientist</a>&nbsp;at NASA, Hiren T Jethva,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/hjethva05/status/1849578536128086531" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">speculated</a>&nbsp;on X that farmers in North India may be deliberately burning crop stubbles later in the afternoon to avoid having their flames tracked by the satellite overpass. It is unclear if this is true, but this hasn’t stopped authorities from reporting a large number of farm fires in the area. In the state of Punjab alone, 4,262 cases of farm fires were reported in the last two weeks,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/of-total-8404-farm-fire-cases-in-punjab-50-reported-in-past-2-weeks/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;the Tribune.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/dense-smog-leaves-delhi-choking-as-aqi-in-severe-plus-category-visibility-down-to-100m-101731903642563.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Dense smog leaves Delhi choking as AQI in ‘severe plus’ category, visibility down to 100m</a>&nbsp;(Hindustan Times)</p>


The Cart in the Fog

India’s Capital Chokes Under ‘Severe Plus’ Pollution—Emergency Measures Enacted Including School Shutdowns


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



<p>Global rates of death caused by heart conditions, diabetes and obesity due to air pollution significantly increased over the past decade, according to the 2024 World Heart Report, and emissions caused by climate change played a part in exacerbating this.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



<p>The number of heart condition-related deaths attributed to air pollution between 2010 and 2019 increased in some places by as much as 27%, and almost 70% of the 4.2 million outdoor air pollution-related deaths in 2019 were from heart conditions, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics#PM" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;published Saturday by the World Heart Federation.</p>



<p>There were 900,000 air pollution-related stroke deaths in 2019, and almost 2 million people died from air pollution-related coronary heart disease, an increase of between 20% and 27% compared to 2010 in every World Health Organization region except for in the Americas (increased by 2.4%) and Europe (decreased by 19.2%).</p>



<p>Global particulate matter concentration—tiny air particles that can be detrimental to health when they enter the body—declined by 1% annually between 2010 and 2019, but were still over six times the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240034228" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">recommended amount</a>&nbsp;set by the World Health Organization.</p>



<p>Only 14% of countries experienced a large decline in particulate matter during this time period, with mostly European countries seeing the largest decreases (between 25% and 35%), while Angola, Cape Verde, Liberia, Palau and Sierra Leone had the largest increases.</p>



<p>Previous research has shown air pollution has a negative effect on <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651322007333" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">obesity</a> and <a href="https://drc.bmj.com/content/bmjdrc/11/5/e003333.full.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diabetes</a>, and because many people with these diseases also have heart conditions, air pollution’s effects on these groups may be indirectly causing significant increases in death, according to the report.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WHAT CAUSES AIR POLLUTION</h2>



<p>Air pollution consists of dangerous materials from both natural and human-made sources. Several things cause it, including vehicle emissions, fumes from chemical productions, gas that heats homes and byproducts from manufacturing power productions, which are among the main sources of human-caused air pollution,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution#:~:text=Vehicle%20emissions%2C%20fuel%20oils%20and,of%20human%2Dmade%20air%20pollution." rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the National Institutes of Health. Naturally occurring hazardous substances include smoke from wildfires, ash from volcanoes and gases like methane, which come from decomposing organic matter in the soil.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">HOW DOES CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT AIR POLLUTION?</h2>



<p>Climate change and air pollution are interlinked because they both worsen each other, according to the report. Climate-related weather changes cause increases in particulate matter and <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/ground-level-ozone-basics" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ground-level ozone</a>, which is a harmful gas and the main ingredient in smog. Climate change can cause an increase in weather events like wildfires and dust storms, increasing the release of dangerous particulate matter and worsening health conditions, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-air-quality#:~:text=In%20many%20regions%20of%20the,droughts%20or%20smoke%20from%20wildfires).&amp;text=These%20changes%20worsen%20existing%20air%20pollution." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to the Environmental Protection Agency. These increases in outdoor air pollution can worsen inside air quality, since they can enter homes and buildings through open doors and ventilation systems. <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/air-quality-energy-and-health/health-impacts/climate-impacts-of-air-pollution#:~:text=Black%20carbon%2C%20a%20component%20of,melting%20of%20snow%20and%20ice." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Black carbon</a>, one of the main elements of fine particulate matter, is one of the largest contributors to global warming after carbon dioxide. It is a heat-absorbing chemical, so it absorbs light and warms the Earth’s atmosphere, thus leading to the melting of ice and snow.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SURPRISING FACT</h2>



<p>Household air pollution contributed to 3.2 million deaths worldwide between 2010 and 2019, a similar figure to the amount of deaths related to outdoor air pollution, according to the report. Low- or middle-income countries experienced most of these deaths due to lack of access to electricity and gas cooking. Over 2 billion worldwide still rely on polluting fuels like coal, wood, charcoal and crop waste for everyday survival.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



<p>Heart disease was the leading cause of death worldwide—and in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db395.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">U.S.</a>—followed by stroke in 2019,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the WHO. One in three Americans has heart or blood vessel disease, and heart disease deaths typically affect people 65 years and older,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-pollution-and-cardiovascular-disease-basics" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the EPA. Those who are the most susceptible to fine particulate matter include older adults, those with obesity, diabetics, non-white people, those with underlying conditions and people of low economic status. Short-term exposure to air pollution can cause an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/what-is-cardiovascular-disease/air-pollution-and-heart-disease-stroke" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">increased risk</a>&nbsp;of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and irregular heartbeat, while long-term exposure increases the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and death. Although reduction in air pollution emissions should be the top priority, the World Heart Federation believes a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fiber and protein; supplements like omega-fatty acids; and the use of medication for people with heart disease that have unavoidably high exposure to air pollution can help prevent the cardiovascular effects of air pollution.</p>


Tag: air pollution

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

India’s Capital Chokes Under ‘Severe Plus’ Pollution—Emergency Measures Enacted Including School Shutdowns

World Heart Report: Air Pollution-Related Deaths From Heart Conditions, Obesity, Diabetes Are Growing—And Climate Change Partially To Blame