Air Pollution In Delhi Is So Bad Its Equivalent To Smoking 44 Cigarettes A Day

Years ago, we received a ‘catastrophic warning’ from 15,000 scientists about how our planet is in terribly bad shape now than it was for the past 25 years. According to them, this is humanity’s second chance and we all need to act fast before it’s too late.

As if to further confirm the point made by the experts, we’re getting reports that air pollution in New Delhi, India’s capital city, has gotten really worse as local residents have spotted thick white haze descending in the area – and it’s been affecting everyone’s lives.

Not the kind of air quality you’d like to wake up to each day.

In a CNN report, we learn that “trains have been canceled, planes delayed and cars have piled into each other, with multiple traffic accidents reported” across Delhi because of reduced visibility.

The government has since taken action but some residents couldn’t help but feel worried about where the crisis could potentially lead.

CNN further tells us:

“On Tuesday afternoon, city chiefs closed all public and private schools, requesting instead that the city’s tens of thousands of school-aged children remain indoors; on Wednesday, they banned incoming trucks and halted civil construction projects; while on Thursday, they announced new plans to begin implementing a partial ban on private car use as of next week.”

This is how bad the situation really is.

Air quality readings have definitely reached alarming levels since, at one point, it topped the 1,000 mark on the US embassy air quality index. According to the World Health Organization, anything beyond 25 is unsafe.

In fact, people are suffering from the pollution and doctors have confirmed they’ve received numerous patients with cases such as “chest pain, breathlessness and burning eyes.”

Apollo Hospital pulmonologist Deepak Rosha said:

“The number of patients has increased obviously.

“I don’t think it’s ever been so bad in Delhi. I’m very angry that we’ve had to come to this.”

The city is “a gas chamber” according to Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi.

Meanwhile, Berkeley Earth, an independent research group, says that the air quality is roughly equivalent to smoking 44 cigarettes in one day. It is being caused by a “combination of vehicle exhaust, smoke from garbage fires and crop burning, and road dust,” the CNN article specified.

Stores have reported an increase in sales for masks and air purifiers.

Sad to say, not everyone can afford the costly preventive measures and so they just have to deal with it on a daily basis.

“My eyes are tearing up from the smoke and I feel suffocated,” lamented Swati Kashyap, a college student.