Anthropogenic Biological Health Hazard – Toxic Air Pollution: New Delhi, India

Citing toxic smog that one official said has turned India’s capital city into a “gas chamber,” United Airlines has canceled flights to New Delhi until the air gets better.

At least in United’s eyes, the Indian capital’s smog concerns are on par with environmental disasters such as hurricanes and volcanoes — a risk to be avoided. The company said it was letting passengers switch flights without charge or helping them find seats on other carriers.

It was unclear if other airlines would follow suit. Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Etihad Airlines all compete for business to New Delhi, according to CNN Money. An advisory on United’s website said travel to New Delhi was suspended through at least Monday.

New Delhi’s air quality is consistently ranked among the world’s worst. But a perfect storm of problems is exacerbating the problem to potentially deadly levels. Farmers who have recently harvested crops in neighboring states are illegally burning their fields, sending smoke into the air. Construction projects and pollution from vehicles in a city that lacks adequate public transportation are making things worse.

This week, the smog was 10 times worse than reigning pollution champion Beijing, where air-quality problems have reached Olympic proportions. Some parts of New Delhi have pollution 40 times the World Health Organization-recommended safe level.

[Byline Cleve R. Wootson Jr. and Vidhi Doshi]

(Excerpt from New Delhi’s ‘gas chamber’ smog is so bad that United Airlines has stopped flying there)

Read more at The Washington Post …
11 November 2017

See Also

New Delhi’s ‘gas chamber’ smog is so bad that united airlines has stopped flying there (All News) 2017/11/11

Air pollution in New Delhi is 10 times over the safe level (The Washington Post) 2017/11/08

Air Emergency : Pollution Level In Delhi Reaches 20 Times Above Normal (India Today) 2017/11/07