A familiar scene is happening in North India. Fields filled with stalks of already harvested crops have been burnt. Billing smoke travels across state borders. In towns and cities, the air is covered with yellow fog.
Stable burning, the practice of deliberately setting fire to cultivated fields to prepare the ground for its next crop, is one of the main drivers of India’s so-called annual pollution season, which begins every winter.
This is especially bad in cities like the capital New Delhi, where burning crop fields, vehicle emissions, power plants, construction sites and smoke-free Diwali fireworks create a toxic cloud that lasts until spring.
Officials have been trying for years to tackle this serious public health risk – but there is a new urgency this year, with fears that pollution could increase the risk of Covid-19.
According to the country’s health ministry, the coronavirus outbreak in India has infected about 7.6 million people and killed more than 115,000. In an effort to contain the virus, India went through months of nationwide total lockdowns – but with little success. Currently, India has the second highest number of infections and the third highest number of deaths globally, after the United States.
Experts and politicians now worry that the arrival of a pollution season could pose a double risk, increasing the risk of serious infections to people, while increasing stress on public health services.
“The combination of air pollution with Covid-1, and especially since it happens in the winter months, we should be really concerned and take adequate measures so that we do not let a huge spike happen,” he said. Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, Medical Sciences said.
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