The Indian capital closed all schools, banned lorries and halted construction work on Monday as air quality in New Delhi plummeted to its worst level this year, with a thick layer of yellowish haze engulfing the city of 22 million.
Air pollution was recorded in the “severe plus” category, with the average Air Quality Index across New Delhi hovering at about 480 in the morning. Some areas recorded readings off the charts, breaching the measurable 500 mark.
Swiss technology company IQAir, which analyses global pollution data, recorded an air quality index of 1,743 in the afternoon whereas the US Embassy in New Delhi—which uses the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow chart—recorded the AQI levels at above 1,600.
Any figure above 50 is considered harmful, with 300 or above deemed a health hazard. Visibility dropped to just 150 metres.
The smog forced authorities to shut all schools following their decision last week to close only primary schools. The city government said children would move to online learning. Officials also invoked strict mitigation measures in an effort to control the pollution.
Following advice from India's Commission for Air Quality Management, authorities banned all public construction work and the entry of diesel-run commercial vehicles into the urban area.
The commission urged officials to also consider shutting colleges and other higher educational institutions and begin reducing the number of vehicles on the streets. It also recommended that half of all government employees work from home.
New Delhi has seen a gradual deterioration in air quality since late October – an annual autumn and winter phenomenon in the world’s most polluted capital. But the smog suddenly worsened at the weekend as cold temperatures gripped the city, bringing a layer of fog that mixed with pollutants and smoke from crop burning on farms.
Experts say air quality readings between 400 and 500 on the government's scale are equal to smoking 25 cigarettes a day.
The concentration of PM2.5 – fine particles in the air blamed for lung and heart diseases – has reached 527 microns per cubic metre in New Delhi, more than 100 times the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation.
The Supreme Court came down heavily on the city government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government for its failure to curb the pollution crisis and ordered them to take all possible measures to bring down the pollution levels.
"It is the constitutional obligation of the central government and state governments to ensure the citizens live in a pollution-free atmosphere. All possible actions shall be taken at the level of these governments to ensure that the AQI is brought down,” the Supreme Court said on Monday, adding that the AQI level inside the courtroom was 990.
It further added that scaling down preventive measures to tackle pollution would require the top court’s permission.
Large swaths of India’s northern states were reeling under distressing air pollution levels. Delhi’s neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh where the Taj Mahal, the 17th century Mughal mausoleum in Agra city, remained shrouded in smog as AQi levels hovered at about 300.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
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The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
