For your child, breathing on Tuesday was like smoking 50 cigarettes in a single day! The air quality index (level of pollutants in the air) in Delhi and NCR clocked 468, more than seven times the safe threshold of 60.
The Indian Medical Association declared a public health emergency, prompting officials to announce a number of measures to control the situation. They blamed crop stubble burning in neighbouring states for the situation, saying high moisture and zero wind speed caused emissions to remain hung in the air.
"It's impossible to breathe. I felt suffocated through the day. Doctors have strictly asked me to stay indoors. I have taken a leave from my office," said 38-year-old Anubhav Singh, a marketing professional. He has been suffering from asthma since 2013.
As the memories of 2016's pollution crisis — worst in two decades — were revived on Tuesday, there is no relief anytime soon. Delhi and adjoining areas are expected to witness a moderate to dense smog cover on Wednesday and Thursday as well. According to a forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the condition is expected to remain "severe" for the next two days.
Dipankar Saha, head of the Air Lab at CPCB, said the situation is not going to change over the next two days unless there is a drop in temperature or wind speed picks up.
"It is like smoking 50 cigarettes in a day. We are in a state of medical emergency. We need to bring pollution levels down. We are all shortening our lives. The situation is alarming," said Dr Arvind Kumar, chairman, chest surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
"Pollution levels may only rise in the coming days, as north-westerly winds have brought moisture with them," said Saha.
The Delhi government said all private and government schools till Class 5 will be shut on Wednesday when the situation will be assessed for any future action. Ghaziabad has also decided to shut primary schools for two days. However, no such advisory has been issued by the Noida administration.
Poor visibility disrupted operations at Delhi's airport as about 300 flight arrivals and departures were delayed, and affected the running of about 25 trains.
The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution and Control Authority (EPCA) directed Delhi and NCR states to implement emergency measures to tackle the crisis.
These include a fourfold increase in parking fee with immediate effect to discourage car use, scaling up of public transport to cut private vehicle emissions, lowering of Metro fare for off-peak rides to decongest roads, a Rs 50,000 fine per day per site on construction agencies for dust spread. Road-rationing scheme Odd-Even may also return if the situation further worsens.
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