Delhi and nearby areas woke up to a thick layer of smog for the second straight day on Friday, with the air quality in the national capital dipping to the “severe" category. Several residents and visitors to the national capital region (NCR) took to social media to share how bad the air quality was.
“This is no hill station, this is Gurgaon. Never experienced Delhi smog first hand. Until today - visibility is so poor and air quality is so terrible; people have already started to wear masks. And its going to get a lot worse,” X (formerly Twitter) user Keshav Lohia wrote, along with photos of the Gurgaon cityscape shrouded in smog.
On Thursday, air pollution levels in the national capital entered the "severe" zone for the first time this season, with scientists warning of a further spike over the next two weeks. The hazardous levels of polluted air promoted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to declare that all government and private primary schools in Delhi will remain closed for the next two days.
The Kejriwal government has called an emergency meeting on Friday to review the situation. The city's AQI (air quality index) reached 402 at 5 pm on Thursday, the worst this season so far.
The Delhi airport and the Delhi-Meerut Expressway too were covered in a thick blanket of smog on Friday morning.
Delhi's air pollution and the annual smog crisis remained the top trend on the internet as people shared their concerns.
Delhi is the "most polluted megacity in the world" with annual average particulate pollution of 126.5 micrograms per cubic metre. Doctors have warned of potential rise in lung and respiratory problems, including common cold, during this season.
Air pollution has worsened in Delhi in the last decade, as smoke from seasonal crop burn off, clubbed with colder winter temperatures and vehicular and industrial pollution lead to the formation of stagnant clouds of smog.
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