The toxicity of the air in the capital city of the India this Monday equivalent to the damage caused by smoking more than 20 cigarettes a day.according to the Indian air quality monitoring platform AQI. Thus, the air quality index is sixty times higher than the maximum recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The air quality in New Delhi on Monday was close to 500 AQI, the record high of highest pollution record documented this season and considered “severe plus” on the national scale, according to the System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), India’s official authority.
However, the independent Indian platform AQI.in and the Swiss monitor AQI Air put the reading at about 5 p.m. at 874 and 1,240, respectively, both at the high end of standard measurement. According to AQI.in the nation’s capital came at the worst time of all, with an air quality index of 975.which is equivalent to the damage caused by smoking 21.7 cigarettes daily or 651 cigarettes per month.
AQI.in’s estimate is based on the Berkeley Earth rule of thumb, which states that one cigarette is equivalent to 22 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) of PM2.5 particulate pollutants. While this is not an exact scientific equivalence, the metaphor illustrates the effects of prolonged exposure at such high levels of fine particulate pollutants.
PM 2.5 are extremely small particles suspended in the air, with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, less than a quarter of the width of a human hair. These particles are so tiny that can penetrate deep into the lungs and the cardiovascular system, which is why they are considered the most dangerous pollutants.
According to the WHO, the average 24-hour exposure to PM 2.5 or PM 10 agents should not exceed 15 µg/m3 for more than 3 or 4 days per year.. Delhi thus exceeds this recommendation by 53.67 times. Moreover, according to the capital authority, 38% of Delhi’s pollution this year originates in the stubble burning, or agricultural fires in neighboring states.
In view of this scenario, the authorities have implemented as of this Monday stage 4 of an anti-pollution plan, the most stringent of the national protocol, which limits commercial and industrial activities, and establishes online classes and telecommuting to avoid exposure.