Hundreds turn out for anti-pollution protest in Delhi

BBC:

Hundreds of people in Delhi took to the streets on Sunday to protest against pollution as air quality continues to worsen in India’s capital and surrounding areas.

People of all ages, including children, held banners and shouted slogans, demanding that the government take action to curb pollution, which is touching severe levels.

Around 80 people were briefly detained by the police, who said the protesters did not have permission to gather near India Gate, a landmark in the city.

Though air pollution is a recurring problem in northern India, especially in winters, this was the first big protest on the issue in a while.

“Our lungs are getting damaged. The government should declare it a health emergency until they find a solution to it,” a protester told news agency PTI.

Air quality in Delhi and its suburbs is relatively poor throughout the year due to vehicular emissions, dust and industrial pollutants. But the problem gets worse in the winters because of farmers burning crop stubble in neighbouring states, along with low wind speed trapping pollutants close to the ground.

Over the past three weeks, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) – which measures the level of PM 2.5 or fine particulate matter in the air that can clog lungs – has been hovering between 300 and 400, which is nearly 20-30 times the acceptable limit marked by the World Health Organization.

On Monday morning, Delhi’s AQI was 330 according to the federal government-run Safar app.

Levels between 101 and 200 are considered moderate, while those between 201 and 300 are “poor”. Between 301 and 400 is categorised as “very poor” and a figure higher than 400 is considered “severe”.

But the readings were higher on other sources, such as private air quality monitors

According to the Air Visual app operated by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir, Delhi’s pollution levels were between 414 and 507, which the app classified as hazardous.