The residents of Delhi NCR have been getting the brickbats by environmentally conscious citizens of the city, for the blanket smog that has engulfed the city right after the Diwali celebrations. The festival of Diwali saw the city burn crackers as per usual, but this time the smog didn’t clear for days. However, quite contrary to popular notion NASA has suggested that the smog might not be the result of the festivities. They have in fact blamed the burning of crops by farmers in neighbouring states like Punjab, Haryana as the reason behind the smog.
According to NASA, a staggering amount of 32 million tonnes of leftover grains were burned in Punjab, reported by NYT. The air quality of the city was 943 units, close to 18 times over the limit of healthy air. Particles of the air are directly responsible for most respiratory diseases, which could plague citizens soon enough.
The state government has figured a way to combat the unhealthy air by vacuuming the roads and sprinkling water in various junctions. A team has been designated to control the dust emissions from construction sites and over 75 cremation grounds around the city. If the smog doesn’t clear and the pollution levels don’t come down and hit the 1000-unit level, it could affect perfectly normal people with respiratory ailments.
Feature image source: Japantimes