Authorities in New Delhi, India declared urgent measures, including stopping construction activities and limiting cars and vehicles as residents endured third successive day of heavy pollution on Thursday.
Doctors have called on the Delhi government to declare city-wide health emergency as toxic smog choked the city since Tuesday.
“Air quality readings have soared with monitors showing levels averaging at 940,’’ Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said, over 40 times the limit World Health Organisation considers to be safe.
Kejriwal told newsmen that orders were being issued to stop the entry of commercial trucks into the city, except those carrying essential goods, halting all construction activity and raising parking fees to force residents to use public transport.
The government was also likely to re-launch its odd-even scheme to curb cars on roads, under which private cars are allowed on roads on alternate days depending on whether their number plate ends with an odd or even number.
On Wednesday, the Delhi government shut down all schools in the city until Sunday, but angry residents, suffering from pollution, demanded more measures and slammed authorities for inaction.
Kejriwal, however, said crop stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring states was the key reason for the hazardous pollution.
“Until that was addressed, Delhi’s inhabitants would continue to breathe bad air,’’ he added.
Delhi, a city with a population of 19 million, has been ranked among the top polluted cities in the world in recent years, and efforts to check the worsening air quality have not worked so far.
