The high-pitched mid-January 2014 warning by the U.S. embassy in Beijing about the air pollution in the Chinese capital caught eyes of people all over the world as a key measure of fine particulate matters known as PM2.5 exceeded 500, upper limit of the measurement scale. PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matters who are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameters. For the first three weeks of 2014, the average measure of PM2.5 was 227 in Beijing where the same measure averaged 473 in New Delhi. While Beijing crossed the mark of 500 in the night of January 15, 2014, New Delhi had eight such days, but without raising the slightest of eyebrows. The fine particulate matters are linked to premature death, heart disease, stroke and heart failure. In October 2013, World Health Organization declared that it caused lung cancer.
A WHO Study Finds India Most Polluted
A World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities found four Indian cities--New Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Raipur--to be four-most polluted cities in the world. The annual average of PM2.5 in New Delhi is 153 compared to Beijing's annual average of 59. The WHO study was published on May 8, 2014.
Beijing Imposes Environmental Emergency
Nearly two years after devising a four-stage alert system to flag severe air quality, authorities for the first time ever raised the alert to the highest stage, so-called red state, for three consecutive days beginning on December 8, 2015. As part of the red-state alert, Beijing's schools will remain closed, half of the vehicles will be required to be off the roads and many factories will be shut down over the three days December 8-10, 2015. On December 8, 2015, the reading of PM2.5 rose to 300 micrograms per cubic meter, and was expected to rise until a cool front would arrive on December 10, 2015 to bring it down. Under the WHO guidelines, any reading of PM2.5 over 25 is deemed unhealthy.
A WHO Study Finds India Most Polluted
A World Health Organization study of 1,600 cities found four Indian cities--New Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Raipur--to be four-most polluted cities in the world. The annual average of PM2.5 in New Delhi is 153 compared to Beijing's annual average of 59. The WHO study was published on May 8, 2014.
Beijing Imposes Environmental Emergency
Nearly two years after devising a four-stage alert system to flag severe air quality, authorities for the first time ever raised the alert to the highest stage, so-called red state, for three consecutive days beginning on December 8, 2015. As part of the red-state alert, Beijing's schools will remain closed, half of the vehicles will be required to be off the roads and many factories will be shut down over the three days December 8-10, 2015. On December 8, 2015, the reading of PM2.5 rose to 300 micrograms per cubic meter, and was expected to rise until a cool front would arrive on December 10, 2015 to bring it down. Under the WHO guidelines, any reading of PM2.5 over 25 is deemed unhealthy.
Indian Capital Choked with Smog; Schools, Colleges, Factories Shuttered
New Delhi region on November 4, 2022 experienced "severe" air quality standard for the third day in a week, leading to school, college and factory closures and ban on diesel trucks with non-essential goods entering the capital region. On November 4, 2022, the air quality standard hit a record of 445, almost 10 times the acceptable threshold of 24-hour average of 45 as recommended by the WHO in 2021.
