New Delhi gets a breather as rain brings respite from smog
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New Delhi, which was the most polluted city in the world till Thursday, saw its air quality index improve on Friday
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW DELHI – Overnight rain in New Delhi and its suburbs brought some relief to the Indian capital on Friday morning, where the authorities were considering seeding clouds to improve the toxic air gripping the city.
The city, which was the most polluted in the world
After the spell of rain, which helped increase the wind speed, the local government postponed its decision to restrict the use of vehicles between Nov 13 and Nov 20. The rule allows vehicles with odd registration numbers on the road on odd dates and even numbers on even dates.
Environmental experts have previously said that the rule has been more effective in de-congesting roads than in bringing down pollution.
Local environment minister Gopal Rai said that the government will review the decision after Diwali, the festival of lights, when many people defy a ban on firecrackers, causing a spike in air pollution.
India’s weather department had forecast intermittent rain over the city and its adjoining areas on Friday, but the Indian capital is expected to remain largely dry on Saturday.
Kolkata in India’s east topped the global chart with an AQI of 189, while air in India’s financial capital of Mumbai has markedly improved due to showers in nearby coastal areas.
In 2023, attention on the worsening air quality has cast a shadow over the Cricket World Cup hosted by India.
Across the border in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, the heavy rain improved air quality, which fell to 129, compared with 422 earlier in the week, which had prompted a four-day closure of most businesses and offices.
Mr Amir Mir, information minister for the Pakistani province of Punjab, of which Lahore is the provincial capital, said markets would now be allowed to open on Friday but restaurants, offices, schools, cinemas and parks would stay shut until Monday.
Scientists and the authorities were planning to seed clouds in New Delhi around Nov 20 to trigger heavy rain, the first such attempt to clean the air.
A thick layer of smog envelops the city every year ahead of winter as heavy, cold air traps dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from the burning of crop stubble in Punjab and Haryana.
The local government of the city of 20 million people, spread over roughly 1,500 sq km, had shut all schools and stopped construction activities earlier this week to curb pollution. REUTERS
