“We feel like we're inhaling smoke from 40 cigarettes at once.”

A thick layer hung over New Delhi on Saturday smog. In the afternoon, the air quality index according to the IQAir methodology was 225, which meant “very unhealthy” conditions for residents. The highest value allowed by the World Health Organization standards is 50.

Smog appears in the New Delhi area every autumn and winter. Cold, still air then hangs over the capital, trapping emissions from cars and houses as well as dust from burning grass on nearby farms.

As residents told the Reuters news agency, the pollution has become so bad that people are unable to go out for fresh air.

– Children do not go to school and the elderly are forced to stay indoors – said one of them. – We feel as if we were inhaling smoke from 40 cigarettes at once. (…) Leaving home is very difficult, but some people have no other choice and have to endure it. – he added.

As quoted by the British “The Guardian”, recent studies have shown that annual exposure to smog can shorten the life of an average resident of New Delhi by almost 12 years. Avinash Chanchal from Greenpeace South Asia explained that treating smog as a problem that only occurs in winter will not help solve it.

– Data shows that the city suffers from high pollution almost all year round. It comes from the transport sector and the millions of cars on the road, coal-fired power plants, waste, the constant construction of highways and overpasses. Until we address all these sectors, we will never achieve cleaner air, he explained.