11 November 2017 12:00 am
Better off inhabitants of the world’s most polluted capital are swarming sellers of face masks —costing more than the ₹ 300 that Sanjay earns in a day— and high-tech air purifiers that could easily cost his annual wage. Delhi authorities on Wednesday ordered all 6,000 schools to shut until Sunday after choking smog descended on the north of the country, while people with breathing difficulties have been told to stay indoors.
But doctors say that none of it will be enough to prevent deaths in the metropolis of 20 million people battling a pollution crisis for the second year.
Some streets have recorded pollution levels 40 times the World Health Organization recommended safe level since Monday, with still weather and the annual post-harvest burning of crop stubble in Punjab fuelling the crisis.
Rickshaw drivers, street vendors and tens of thousands of homeless families endure the full force of pollution that doctors warn can do irreparable damage to the heart, brain and lungs, especially in children.