Delhi under cloud of smog, considers traffic restrictions

A million school children wereforced to stay at home, some businesses urged employees not tocome to work and long queues formed outside shops selling facemasks on Monday as New Delhi struggled with its worst pollutionfor nearly 20 years.

The Indian capital's government was considering whether tobring back a car rationing scheme, a minister said on Monday, asair pollution remained many times above what are considered tobe safe levels for a second week.

It's a war zone hospitals wards arefull of infants Environmental activist VimlenduJha

New Delhi's streets were shrouded in a heavy gray haze ofsmoke, ash and other pollutants, and residents complained ofbreathlessness, watering of eyes, aggravated coughs andwheezing.

"We are now calling this a pollution epidemic. Our advisoryto people is to stay at home, if possible work from home," saidK.K. Aggarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association.

Levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that reaches deepinto the lungs, remained above 700 in the city's worst affectedareas on Monday.

That is nearly 30 times a mean guideline of 25 microgramsper cubic metre on average over a 24-hour period set by theWorld Health Organization (WHO), which says outdoor airpollution killed 3.7 million people globally in 2012.

"It's a war zone we are talking about, hospitals wards arefull of infants," Vimlendu Jha, an environmental activist, said.

Return of 'odd-even'?

A combination of smoke from burning farm residue insurrounding states, fireworks for the Hindu festival of Diwali,dust from construction work and vehicle emissions have pushedpollution levels to their highest in 17 years.

Mohammad Kamil, manager of a store that sells face masks,said he used to sell about six masks on average in a week, butnow they had 150 to 200 customers a day.

"We have run out of stock, but we are taking orders. We willprovide it to everyone," he said.

The demand for air purifiers also jumped, both from localsand foreigners working in India.

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Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Kumar Jain said theadministration was preparing to restrict the use of privatevehicles through the "odd-even" scheme that was introducedtemporarily last winter to combat pollution.

Under the system, cars were allowed on the road only onalternate days, according to whether their number plates wereodd or even.

"There is a review meeting later this week. We areconsidering to bring back the odd-even scheme, it is one of manymeasures," he told reporters.

Delegates attending a global conference on controllingtobacco consumption said they were taken by surprise by thelevel of pollution.

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"I was shocked, did not expect this. It's kind of funny thatwe are at a conference that aims to have cleaner air and are ata venue that does not have that," said Irene Ryes, a delegatefrom the Philippines.

U.S. embassy spokesman Joseph Kruzich told the EconomicTimes that the embassy had employed measures, includingsupplementary air filtration and construction of vestibules, toprovide clean air in workspaces.

At Connaught Place, a central Delhi landmark, the nationalflag atop a 63-metre pole was barely visible on Sunday.

British PM visits

A normally bustling fitness studio was almost empty, andwhen a client used an instrument to show staff that indoor airquality was also hazardous, they said they could do little aboutit with outdoor pollution so high.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was visiting India whiletoxic smog hung over the capital of 20 million people.

Television pictures showed her walking with Indiancounterpart Narendra Modi in the gardens of Hyderabad House inthe capital before going in for delegation level talks.

A reception for May at High Commissioner Dominic Asquith'sresidence, which is located in the heart of Lutyens' Delhi andhas an expansive garden, will go ahead on Monday evening asplanned, an official said.

"Officially, we are saying nothing at all about pollution,"a British diplomat said.

Delhi authorities have blamed the governments of nearbystates of Haryana and Punjab for compounding the city's problemsby allowing farmers to burn paddy stubble ahead of the wheatsowing season, even though the practice is banned.

Modi's government urged people not to use the pollutionproblem for political gain.

"If we engage in any blame game, the issue won't getresolved. The problem right now is Delhi's 20 million people arefinding it difficult to breathe," said Anil Madhav Dave, federalenvironment minister.

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