Delhi's emergency shutdown: City takes drastic steps as air gets dangerous
New Delhi officials close schools and stop building work as toxic air hits dangerous levels. The mega-cityʼs 33 million people wake up to thick smog covering streets and homes
New Delhiʼs govt took quick action this monday when air-quality meters showed the worst readings of winter-2024. Officials in Indiaʼs mega-city had to make hard choices to deal with toxic air thats covering the streets
The local authorities put these strict rules in place:
- No school classes until air gets better
- All building work must stop right now
- Non-needed trucks cant enter city limits
The citys 33-million people found themselves in a cloud of grey-brown haze that SAFAR (the main env agency) says is super-dangerous. Their testing shows tiny dust bits in the air — which can go deep in peoples lungs; making the situation really bad
The smog-filled morning made the usual busy Delhi streets look different with people trying to get around in low visibility conditions (many wearing face covers). The env agencyʼs meters showed numbers way above what they call safe: this means big health risks for everyone living there
