The air pollution was so bad, officials asked the public to stay indoors and close the windows. Flights were also canceled.
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| © Manish Swarup/AP Vehicles wait for a signal at a crossing as the city enveloped in smog in New Delhi, India, Nov. 3, 2019. |
The government of New Delhi, India, has turned to rationing car-use
in an attempt to reduce air pollution, which reached its worst level
this year over the weekend.
Air pollution on Sunday hit a record high when the concentration of tiny particles in the air, called PM2.5, hit over 900, way over the 500-level that qualifies as “severe-plus.” The air quality index reached 568 that day. In the U.S. EPA says people can begin to experience side effects when air quality exceeds 50.
The 46 million people who live in the greater Delhi area were advised
to stay indoors with the windows closed to avoid breathing the toxic
smog, and dozens of flights were diverted from Delhi airport on Sunday
due to poor visibility.
The rationing scheme, called “Odd Even” means that cars with an odd and
even license plate numbers will only be allowed to drive in the capital
on alternative days. The restrictions will remain in place until at
least Nov. 15.
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| © Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images A man crosses a street in smoggy conditions in New Delhi on Nov. 4, 2019. |
Nearly 200 teams of the Delhi Traffic Police have been deployed and
5000 volunteers were recruited to help inform other citizens about the
plan, according to local outlet New Delhi TV.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world" tweeted
chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal. "I am glad every Delhiite is
happily participating in Odd Even and represents the change that Delhi
wishes to see. I too carpooled with my Ministers to work today. We will
alternate between my car and theirs for the rest of Odd Even.”
Such strategies have been used before, but it is unclear how effective
it is in combatting city pollution. Air pollution is not a new
phenomenon in India, with schools closed and air traffic brought to a
halt in previous years. The Environment Pollution (Prevention and
Control) Authority has called it a national crisis.
In a report
in October, the Authority said that although New Delhi had made
improvements to its air quality, the “city still needs to reduce
pollution levels by 65% to meet the national air quality standard.”
Kejriwal thanked his fellow Delhiites for cooperating with the plan but
also drew attention to agricultural burning in the provinces around
Delhi, which he claimed was a major source of pollution but that his
city government can’t control.
“There is little that the people
of Delhi can do to fight pollution due to crop stubble burning happening
in Haryana and Punjab, which is a major contributor to pollution in
Dehli in the months of October and November,” wrote Kejriwal in a letter to the Indian Minister of Environment in September, in which he asked for help with a coordinated national response.
“Stubble burning is indeed a huge problem that explains seasonal
extremes like the current crisis,” said Dr. Elizabeth Chatterjee, a
lecturer in Regional and Comparative Politics at Queen Mary University
of London. “Delhi will struggle to solve this alone, because stubble
burning is dispersed across rural areas around the city. Tackling it
would demand collaboration from a whole host of other Indian state
governments.”
But, she added, “[t]he jury is still out on
whether the odd-even policy actually works.” Economists at the
University of Chicago suggest it was effective in January 2016, but less so when used again in April 2016.
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| © Manish Swarup/AP Vehicles wait for a signal at a crossing as the city enveloped in smog in New Delhi, India, Nov. 3, 2019. |
The Supreme Court, which has been monitoring the air pollution
crisis in India, said on Monday that the state was only interested in
“gimmicks” and has ordered the state government to produce data to prove
that the car rationing system works, according to the BBC. It also summoned the heads of neighboring states to answer questions about stubble burning.
"Delhi is choking every year and we are unable to do anything," said
Supreme Court Justice Arun Misha. "The state machinery is not acting…
They are passing the buck to each other... Everybody is interested in
gimmicks and elections."
“The Supreme Court's role is
interesting,” said Chatterjee. “In recent years it has sometimes been in
the vanguard of pushing for environmental protections, and now it's
chastised other North Indian state governments for failing to combat
stubble burning. But actually forcing state governments to comply is a
very tall order in India's fractious federal system.”
“As ever
in India, talk comes cheap, but implementation remains the big problem,”
said Chatterjee. “Of course, this is an easy way for the court to look
popular and responsive at a time when many people have criticized its
reluctance to challenge the government's actions in Kashmir,” she added.
Changing weather in New Delhi means that air quality is likely to improve
during the week according to the Central Pollution Control Board – but
only from severe+ to severe – while India Today reports that over 40% of
residents of the greater Delhi area want to move to another city
because of bad air quality.
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