Noxious smog hangs over New Delhi’s monuments and skyscrapers. Schools were ordered closed and construction banned. People are wearing masks again.

It’s that time of the year again in the Indian capital. Officers Struggles to control severe air pollutionAn annual and chronic health crisis that disrupts the lives of more than 20 million people in the city every year.

He tuesdayHe The air quality index neared the 400 mark for fine particulate matter, which is considered dangerous and 10 times the global safety limit., according to India’s premier environmental watchdog SAFAR. Is he This is the fifth consecutive day of bad winds in the region.

“There is a lot of smog. I have been looking at the air quality index I dread this weather” said Srinivas Rao, a visitor from Andhra Pradesh state wearing a face mask during his morning walk near the city’s India Gate monument.

It is with the authorities Water sprinklers and anti-smoke guns were used to control the fog. It also announced a fine of 20,000 rupees ($240) for drivers using smog-producing gasoline and diesel cars, buses and trucks.. Meanwhile, doctors have advised the residents Avoid going outside wearing a mask Because as much as possible Smog can cause respiratory infections, flu and asthma attacks.

Pollution also threatens to derail the ongoing Cricket World Cup in India after the Sri Lanka team canceled training in New Delhi over the weekend ahead of their clash with Bangladesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.

Last week, local media reported that demand for air purifiers had increased.

Residents like Renu Aggarwal, 55, worry the smog will worsen as Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that includes the lighting of firecrackers, approaches this weekend. Your daughter has a pollen allergy that is aggravated by pollution.

“She can’t breathe. Even if we close the doors and windows in the house, the pollution affects her to such an extent that even going to the bathroom is difficult for her. He also has shortness of breath,” he said.

Every year, especially in winter, when crop residue burning in neighboring states coincides with dangerously smoky cold temperatures, New Delhi tops the list of many Indian cities with the worst air quality.

Burning of crop residues at the beginning of the winter wheat planting season is a major source of pollution in North India. Officials are trying to cheat farmers by giving cash incentives to buy machinery to carry out this work. But still Smoke from crop burning accounts for 25% of pollution in New DelhiAccording to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.

New Delhi saw a sharp 32% rise in fine airborne particles between 2019 and 2020, a 43.7% drop in 2021 and a steady rise in 2022 and 2023.According to Respirator Living Sciences, an organization that monitors air quality and other environmental factors.

The acute air pollution crisis affects all city dwellers, but millions of people who work outdoors are even more vulnerable.

Gulshan Kumar, a rickshaw puller, says his nose, throat and eyes often fill with airborne dirt.

Her children beg her to return to her hometown in Bihar state. “They ask me why I work in this polluted and sick city,” he said. “If I had a job at home, I wouldn’t have come to Delhi to work.”

(With information from AP)