Authorities have closed all the schools in the Indian city of
Delhi after air pollution reached nearly 30 times the recommended safe level.
As many as five million youngsters will be ordered to stay
home until Sunday as the city's government attempts to tackle a blanket of
smog.
An Indian labourer drives a rickshaw amid heavy smog in New
Delhi
The US embassy website said that the concentration of PM 2.5
- a damaging particulate matter - topped 700 for a second day early on
Wednesday, 28 times World Health Organisation safe level guidelines.
In some parts of New Delhi on Tuesday air quality was so poor
that it was beyond the maximum reading of 999, a level equal to smoking 50
cigarettes a day.
Doctors called for the city's half marathon, due to take
place on 19 November, to be called off to protect runners and volunteers.
Manish Sisodia, Delhi's deputy chief minister, tweeted:
"Due to the deteriorating air quality in Delhi, the health of children
cannot be compromised.
"We have ordered the closure of all the schools in Delhi
until Sunday."
The Indian Medical Association described the situation as a
public health emergency and demanded administrators "curb this
menace".
The city, which has a population of 20 million, is said to be
the world's most polluted, often surpassing Beijing.
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