Immediate action was expected. In light of air pollution, which has reached alarming levels in recent days, New Delhi ordered schools to be closed for a week on Saturday.
“Schools will be closed from Monday so that children do not have to breathe polluted air,” said the Prime Minister of the Indian capital Arvind Kejriwal to reporters. Civil servants are required to telework and private companies have been encouraged to do so as much as possible.
The construction work will be interrupted for four days from Sunday in order to stop the pollutant emissions from outdoor facilities.
The most polluted capital in the world
The pollution levels in New Delhi were also in the “heavy” zone on Friday, prompting the Central Pollution Control Agency to issue an imminent health warning. Agricultural waste incineration in neighboring New Delhi continues despite a Supreme Court ban.
According to a report published in 2020 by the Swiss organization IQAir, the Indian capital, populated by 20 million people, is the most polluted in the world because of its factories, traffic and agricultural fires that ignite every winter.
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