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The news that the capital city of New Delhi had to shut down its schools as the residents of the city woke up to a thick smog enveloping the city of some 33 million residents making it the biggest educational shutdown since Covid-19 times. The level of air pollution is at an astonishingly 60 times more than accepted levels as per the UN standards. Some experts say that breathing Delhi air these days for a 24 hour period means smoking about 40 to 50 cigarettes in the same time period. One can only imagine the damage it must be causing to the lungs and the upper respiratory tract. At some places, the Air Quality Index was 50 to 60 times more than the acceptable levels as laid out by the UN.
As per some observers, the burning of paddy stubble in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana is mainly responsible for the deterioration in the air quality of New Delhi. However, a deeper analysis by some other relevant observers feel that the massive construction ever happening in Delhi, unimaginable level of firecrackers burst during festivals and a huge number of single-occupied vehicles is also a main cause of Delhi’s pollution. Whatever be the case it is amazing to note that the second biggest city in the world as per population and the area is forced into a shutdown because of the air pollution. It is amazing to note that Delhi alone is not in this problem. The Pakistani city of Punjab is also grappling with a similar deterioration in the air quality index being a city of 15 million people and the second biggest city in Pakistan after Karachi. It is amazing to note that both Lahore and New Delhi are inland cities with no direct border with any ocean. The cities like Karachi and Mumbai are spared of this torture because a considerable border of both these cities is shared with the ocean.
As per some other media reports pouring in The Jamia Millia and colleges of Delhi University have taken their classes online and the entire construction activity in Delhi has been put on hold. This means that the entire real estate and education sector has been brought to its knees. The weatherman predicts that these goofy weather conditions may last another week. We hope for good precipitation which may improve the condition.
While all this is happening in Delhi we need to understand that Srinagar city is also changing into a metropolitan city. In another 15 to 20 years time, we are expecting Srinagar metropolitan to have a population of around four million souls. We need to curb pollution right from today to ensure that we are not faced with a Delhi-like situation.
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