Today in pollution dystopia: Air purifiers deployed to save Taj Mahal, advisory against stepping outdoors

At 4pm on Sunday, pollution levels in Delhi peaked to a three-year high as hundreds of distraught people took to social media to say they wanted to leave the city. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the national capital's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 494, the highest since November 6, 2016, when it was 497. In the National Capital Region (NCR), Faridabad with an AQI of 493, Noida (494), Ghaziabad (499), Greater Noida (488) and Gurgaon (479), also breathed extremely polluted air. An AQI between 0-50 is considered 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'. An AQI above 500 falls in the 'severe plus' category. The apocalyptic haze stiffened its choke-hold on Delhi and satellite towns as scattered rains on Saturday increased humidity, leading to smog and a cloud cover preventing sun rays from warming the ground. Low visibility due to smog at the Delhi airport led to diversion of 37 flights to other airports.

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Air purifiers at Taj Mahal

State authorities have deployed an air purifier at the Taj Mahal to save the iconic monument. The air purifier van deployed by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has capacity to purify 15 lakh cubic metre air in eight hours within a 300 metre radius. "Looking at the developing situation and consistent deterioration in air quality, a mobile air purifier van has been deployed at the west gate of the Taj Mahal," Regional Officer of UPPCB Bhuvan Yadav told PTI. Pollution around the white marble mausoleum has been a cause of concern for a long time as it has been damaging the monument, one of the seven wonders of the world. At present there is no continuous air monitoring station around the Taj Mahal to help calculate the AQI so the magnitude of how much air has been purified cannot be determined. 

Delhi residents want out

According to a survey released on Sunday, over 40 per cent residents of Delhi and NCR want to move to another city because of bad air quality while 16 per cent want to travel during the period. The survey involved 17,000 respondents from Delhi and NCR. Amitabh Kant, the CEO of NITI Aayog, posted on Twitter about a visit to Kerala, creating a furore: "Away from the hustle, bustle of Delhi in God''s Own Country where I have lived, worked and served the people of the state." "This is where I will settle down in life," he said with the hashtag ''pollution kills''. However, Kant clarified in a later tweet that he never mentioned Delhi. 

Dystopic scenes of pollution as women observe the annual Chatth Puja

Braving hazardous pollution and rain, thousands of women devotees paid obeisance to the rising sun on Sunday morning along the ghats on the Yamuna banks and water bodies in the city, marking the culmination of Chhath Puja.

Politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari, also attended Chhath Puja offering "Arghya" to the Sun god in the early morning.

However, the devotees were deprived a view of the rising sun due to thick smog covering the skyline of the city.

Health advisory against stepping out of homes

The odd-even scheme in New Delhi will kick in from today. School will remain shut till November 6, as Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba will monitor the alarming pollution situation on a daily basis. P.K. Mishra, the principal secretary to the prime minister, reviewed the situation arising out of severe air pollution in the National Capital Region, and other parts of north India. Senior officials from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi joined the meeting through video-conferencing, according to a statement. The Delhi government issued a health advisory in view of the severe air pollution in the city and asked people to avoid outdoor activities as much as possible, especially during the morning and late evening hours. 

Many also criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to go ahead with the first India-Bangladesh T20 match at the Firoz Shah Kotla Grounds on Sunday evening, disregarding concerns about the health of players and thousands of spectators. More than 25,000 crazy cricket fans paid little heed to public health emergency, thronging the Feroz Shah Kotla in large numbers to watch India play a T20 game against Bangladesh, braving the toxic air pollution in national capital. Alarmed by the dipping air quality, the state government had ordered shutting down of schools till November 5 but students were present in large numbers to watch their cricketing heroes in action. There were a few wearing anti-pollution masks but the number was insignificant compared to the ones who didn't feel it necessary to use them.

Life expectancy down the drains

The average citizen living in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) is likely to lose seven-and-a-half years of his/her life at current levels of air pollution, according to an analysis of the Air Quality Life Index conducted by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

The study notes a 72 per cent increase in pollution between 1998 and 2016 in the region, which houses 40 per cent of the country’s population. In 1998, the impact of pollution on people’s lives would have been half of what it is today with residents losing 3.7 years of life expectancy. While air pollution is a challenge throughout India, the high levels of particulate pollution in the IGP region of north India, which includes Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, stands out. In 1998, citizens living outside of the IGP region would have seen their lives cut short by 1.2 years compared to what it would have been if air quality met the WHO guideline. That number has grown to 2.6 years—also worsening but much more modest than what has taken place in the IGP.

It is noteworthy that the decreases in life expectancy are the same for both the genders.