Under the haze weather in Lahore, commuters ride along the road.
- Toxic smoke enveloped the Indian city of New Delhi.
- Environmentalists worry that as the country fights the Covid-19 pandemic, the smog may cause more deaths.
- Despite the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions on schools, parents decided to keep their children at home.
With toxic smoke covering the city, many students in New Delhi stayed at home on Monday instead of returning to the reopened school.
The air quality in New Delhi is the worst among all capital cities, but even by its standards, the past few days have been extremely bad.
Although the authorities eased restrictions on schools when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit India in March last year, many parents decided not to send their children back.
“The pollution in Delhi is dangerous. As parents, we are afraid of sending our children to school,” the parent Kamlesh Sharma wrote on Twitter.
An anti-smog gun operates along the road to curb air pollution.
For the air to be considered safe, the Air Quality Index (AQI) level is 500, which should be lower than 50. In New Delhi on Monday night, the index was 392, which has entered the danger zone. This is a slight improvement from the 451 registered last week, because the mild wind helps to disperse some pollution.
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Although some schools have resumed courses for higher grades, as part of the staggered reopening, for the first time on Monday, students aged 14 and under were allowed to return to school.
However, because parents worry about dangerous air and the risk of coronavirus, many schools report attendance rates below 40% on the first day of return.
Commuters march through the smog-shrouded Lahore.
Ashok Agarwal, national chairman of the All India Parents Association, said: “After Covid, pollution has become a major public health threat, especially for children and the elderly. The law enforcement and political will of the People’s Republic of China expressed disappointment.
Many supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party are opposed to a total ban on firecrackers, while accusing the opposition-ruled state governments of Delhi and Punjab of increasing pollution.
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Environmentalists say that the federal and state governments are reluctant to take tough measures because they are worried about losing the support of voters.
In a letter to federal and state authorities, Tanmay Kumar, chairman of the Central Pollution Control Committee, expressed regret that they did not “take adequate measures to control pollution” and asked them to curb all air pollution activities.
Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, told the “India Today” TV channel that exposure to pollution is more harmful than tobacco or smoking.
In Lahore’s haze-shrouded early morning, traders gathered at the fruit market.
He said: “If the air pollution level is higher, then the chance of getting infected with the more serious Covid and dying from it will increase.”
Pollutant particles in the air can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, such as lung cancer. In India, toxic air causes more than one million deaths every year.
The serious deterioration in air quality in the past week was due to farmers violating the ban on straw burning in the agricultural states surrounding the capital, and people ignoring the fireworks ban on the Hindu Diwali festival.
According to a survey of 34,000 respondents by Local Circles, a private organization, there are about 20 million people in the Delhi area. Nearly 80% of households report headaches, breathing difficulties and runny nose due to air pollution.
Sachin Taparia, head of Local Circles, said: “After a long online course, face-to-face schools are finally open. Due to the dual risks of Covid and pollution, many parents seem unwilling to send their children to school in the next few weeks.”
