Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

New Delhi Braces For Deadly Cocktail of Pollution As Air Quality Falls

India's capital is set for a ‘deadly cocktail’ of pollution in coming weeks, a senior government official said, as air quality in the New Delhi area plummeted on Wednesday (24), alarming doctors and environmentalists.

Delhi is heading into a deadly cocktail with Diwali festival and peak stubble burning season.


The federal government official blamed the deterioration in air quality to a ‘very poor’ level across much of the city on a fall in temperature and lighter wind, as both seasonal changes allow pollution to accumulate.

The official - speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, said air quality would continue to worsen around Diwali, which falls on November 7.

Pollution levels will be exacerbated as farmers in areas close to Delhi burn crop residue in preparation for new planting and people let off fireworks to mark the Hindu festival.

"We are heading into a deadly cocktail with Diwali and peak stubble burning time," the official said.

"If we come back into the 'poor' category of pollution, it will be a very big achievement."

On Wednesday, air quality in Delhi hit the ‘very poor’ level at more than half of its monitoring stations, according to the government's Central Pollution Control Board - the worst set of readings since a dust storm hit the city in June.

Late last year, Delhi and a large part of northern India were covered in a toxic smog from burning crop waste and the countless firecrackers let off for Diwali, forcing authorities to shut power stations, ban construction and clamp down on garbage burning.

Despite pressure from health experts, the government this year held off on a wholesale ban on fireworks and has faced criticism for failing to prevent farmers in states neighbouring Delhi from burning stubble.

To curb pollution levels around Diwali, the country's top court on Tuesday (23) only allowed the use of ‘green’ firecrackers, but it was unclear how the rule will be enforced or whether there was such a thing as an environmentally safe firework.

Despite a government plan to discourage the burning of crop residue by offering to pay up to 80 per cent of the cost of certain farm equipment, many farmers are still burning their waste.

On Wednesday at two monitoring stations in Delhi, the air quality index, an international standard measure of several kinds of poisonous particulate matter, exceeded 600, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.

That is a dozen times more than a healthy level of 50. Several other stations reported readings above 500.

Dr JC Suri, a consultant in respiratory medicine at Mejeedia Hospital, said he was expecting a spike in admissions of patients with pollution-related health issues.

"Right now, the patient load is similar to usual, but as the air quality deteriorates it is going to increase in the coming weeks," he said.

The World Health Organisation said this year India was home to the world's 14 most polluted cities, with Delhi ranked sixth.

"The government has no political will and year after year we get into a narrative around pollution only in the month of October when the situation is really, really bad," said Vimlendu Jha, an environmentalist who founded the activist group Swechha.

"Almost 320 days out of the 365, Delhi's air quality is in poor condition but there is no conversation around it,"  he added.

Reuters

More For You

Sunita-Williams-Reuters

Sunita Williams was part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission and had been stranded in space for over nine months. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters)

India looks amazing from space, says Sunita Williams

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams described India as "amazing" from space and expressed her intention to visit her "father's home country" to share her experiences on space exploration.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, she responded to a question about how India appeared from space and the possibility of collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Keep ReadingShow less
british-muslims-iStock

The study noted that this identification was not due to any doctrinal obligation but was influenced by the perception that many Muslims do not feel fully accepted as British. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Majority of British Muslims identify by faith first, study finds

A STUDY by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) has found that most British Muslims identify primarily with their religion rather than their nationality.

The research, based on a survey of 815 British Muslim adults by Whitestone Insight, revealed that 71 per cent of respondents identified as Muslim first, while 27 per cent identified as British, English, or Scottish first.

Keep ReadingShow less
Car Tax Changes: EV Owners Now Required to Pay for the First Time

Owners of electric vehicles registered on or after 1 April 2025 will pay £10 for the first year, followed by the standard VED rate of £195 from the second year. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Car tax changes take effect: EV owners to pay for first time

FROM today, 1 April 2025, electric cars, vans, and motorcycles in the UK will be subject to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for the first time.

The change, introduced in the 2022 Autumn Statement by former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, aims to make motoring taxation fairer.

Keep ReadingShow less
scotland-minimum-wages-iStock

Full-time workers on the National Living Wage will receive an annual pay increase of £1,400 in real terms. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Wage increase takes effect for thousands of workers in Scotland

HUNDREDS of thousands of workers in Scotland will see a pay increase as new National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates take effect from Tuesday.

The changes will benefit approximately 220,000 people, according to STV News.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk-energy-bill-iStock

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

April bill increases put financial strain on single parents

A RANGE of essential household bills are increasing from April, with Citizens Advice warning that single parents will be among the hardest hit.

Water bills, energy prices, and council tax are rising, while the minimum wage has also increased, BBC reported.

Keep ReadingShow less