Air quality has continued to deteriorate in the national capital. Photo: Vikas Choudhary/CSE
Air

Grey dawn over Delhi

India’s capital is now in the throes of a ‘public health emergency’

Vikas Choudhary

Health experts have sounded a red alert over the current air quality in the national capital. The air in Delhi and the National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR) is so bad that it threatens life, according to the Hindustan Times.

On the morning of November 21, several areas of the city recorded air quality below the ‘severe’ mark, the newspaper reported.

Experts have told the Hindustan Times that there is evidence to suggest that the pollution is affecting life expectancy.

The situation has deteriorated to the extent that nearly 80 per cent households in Delhi-NCR have had at least one member fall ill due to toxic air in the past month, according to the Hindustan Times report.

What Delhi needs is a systemic solution to the problem, according to the experts.

Experts told the daily that there is enough evidence to show that the pollution is bad enough to hit life expectancy. Short-term fixes cannot solve the problem which needs a systemic solution.