Authorities in India are rolling out new measures and restrictions Friday to protect 20 million New Delhi residents from toxic smog that has blanketed the capital city, including shutting down primary schools, factories and construction sites and urging people to work from home.
Several key landmarks in the megacity remain nearly invisible behind a thick blanket of hazy, orange-grey smog that has peaked to its most hazardous level this week.
Commuters ride past an anti-smog gun spraying water to curb air pollution amid heavy smog conditions in New Delhi on Nov. 4, 2022.
Money SHARMA / AFP
Kejriwal has come under fire from residents and political opponents for his handling of the smog crisis, with many blaming farmers burning their crop stubble in the northern state of Punjab as driving the issue.
Every year at the start of winter, tens of thousands of farmers in northern India set fire to what remains of their fields, in order to clear away crop stubble for the upcoming planting season. That smoke then wafts south to New Delhi, where calmer winter winds allow it to blanket the city.
Despite the practice being banned by India’s Supreme Court, farmers persist because it is a much cheaper option than collecting and transporting crop stubble for disposal.
