Delhi's air pollution levels has sky-rocketed for the past fortnight and since Diwali, to put it mildly, it has gotten worse. The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government claims they are doing their bit to curb the air pollution and has pinned the blame on the stubble burning from the adjoining states that has deteriorated Delhi's air. In order to prevent further damage, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal distributed masks to school students in the national capital.
"Pollution level has deteriorated in Delhi due to smoke from stubble burning in adjoining states, whose number has doubled this year. People are facing difficulty in breathing, & to provide relief, we're distributing 2 masks to each student in private & govt schools", Kejriwal said.
Later in the day, Kejriwal also announced that Delhi schools will remain shut till November 5.
There is a ban in place on stubble burning but it continues to happen thereby leading to a rise in air pollution levels.?
Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are resorting to the harmful practice in their farms. This is making the air quality in the national capital region extremely toxic.
AFP/ FILE
According to data from the NASA Fire map, there are still thousands of active farm fires in both states.
As per the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor SAFAR, around 35 per cent of Delhi's pollution is caused by stubble burning, the season's highest so far.
Even doctors have said there has been a 30% rise in respiratory problems in the national capital.
High time some concrete action is taken to curb the rising pollution in Delhi.