This archive report was first published on 13 November 2019.
November 13, 2019
India's capital city, New Delhi, has been plagued by severe air pollution for weeks, with levels reaching 'emergency' levels on Wednesday, coinciding with a visit by Britain's Prince Charles.
The toxic smog, caused by a combination of industrial and traffic pollution, as well as smoke from crop stubble burning, has cast a pall over the city, with the amount of 2.5PM particles reaching nearly 20 times the safe limit set by the World Health Organisation.
Prince Charles, a frequent advocate for environmental issues, met with Sunita Narain, a leading environmental activist, at the Indian Meteorology Department as part of his two-day visit to India.
Narain has been critical of the government's efforts to address the pollution crisis, calling for faster moves away from coal and other 'dirty fuels' as energy sources and saying authorities are doing 'too little too late'.
The Delhi state government has implemented measures to curb pollution, including banning construction and implementing road rationing, but the Supreme Court has joined criticism of the government, saying authorities have made 'little constructive efforts' to address the issue.
Research has shown that the toxic smog across northern India cuts short the lives of around one million people each year, and India has 14 of the world's 15 most polluted cities, according to the WHO.
