You Think the Air in Beijing Is Bad? Try New Delhi
By HEATHER TIMMONS
NEW DELHIBeijings air pollution has reached such toxic levels recently that the Chinese government is finally acknowledging the problem and acting on it.
But
in New Delhi on Thursday, air pollution levels far exceeded those in Beijing, only without any government acknowledgement or action. It is not the first time pollution in Indias capital has outpaced that in China.
The level of tiny particulates known as PM 2.5, which lodge deep in the lungs and can enter the bloodstream, was over 400 micrograms per cubic meter in various neighborhoods in and around Delhi Thursday, according to a real-time air quality monitor. That compared to Beijings most-recent air quality reading of 172 micrograms per cubic meter. (The Air Quality online link to the left of the Delhi website gives you real-time monitoring of Delhis pollution levels.)
At the University of Delhis northern campus at 12:30 p.m., the reading for PM 2.5 was 402 micrograms per cubic meter; in the eastern suburb of Noida it was 411; at the Indira Gandhi International airport it was 421.
Beijings government on Wednesday introduced emergency measures to curb pollution, ordering cars off the roads and factories to shut down, and warning citizens to avoid activity outside. The measures came after two straight days that the readings were higher than 300, a level the United States Environmental Protection Agency considers hazardous.
The forecast for Delhis air pollution Friday is critical, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences. So far, though,
Delhis government has made no announcements about the citys air pollution, nor introduced any emergency measures, a spokesman for chief ministers office said. Sheila Dikshit, the chief minister, said in an interview in December that the city could not keep up with the factors that cause air pollution.
Beijings air quality is so bad that living there is like living in a smoking lounge, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The levels of air pollution Bloomberg cited as Beijings average were half that of New Delhi early Thursday afternoon.
Air Pollution in New Delhi Was Much Worse Than Beijing Thursday, But Indian Government Is Not Acting - NYTimes.com
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One conclusion: Indian democratic government doesn't care about its constituents, and is far worse than Chinese authoritarian government!
LOL! Some Indian friends were laughing at Chinese polluted air as "gas chamber". True. But
your gas chamber is twice more toxic than China's, maybe due to your democracy nature.
Democracy kills you. Really.