INDIA'S CAPITAL CITY STRUGGLES TO BREATH

Particulate matter (PM) 2.5 levels in Delhi's air have risen to 420 while the acceptable level is 60. On the other hand, PM 10 1levels have shot up to 986, where the acceptable level is 100.

Thick toxic smog enveloped New Delhi for a third
straight day on Thursday forcing schools to shut down, halting traffic on highways and sending residents scurrying to buy air purifiers and filtration masks.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of
Delhi, a mega-city of around 20 million people,
called the capital a "gas chamber" as his
government sought meetings with adjoining
states to address the issue.

By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the deadly level of carcinogenic pollutants in New Delhi's air was roughly 10 times the reading in Beijing, a city more globally infamous for its air pollution.

Experts are calling the situation in New Delhi a
major public health emergency.

"The situation as it exists  is the worst that I have seen in my 35 years staying in the city of Delhi," said Arvind Kumar, a lung surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. "As a doctor, I have no problem saying that the situation  is a public health emergency.

 If you want to protect people, we should be ordering the evacuation of Delhi.

Closing down all schools. Closing down allShikha Gupta, 32, an IT professional in Delhi has
kept her children and elderly parents inside and has stopped taking her morning walks.

"I just stepped out of my office a couple of minutes ago and my eyes are burning already," she said.

The levels of the deadliest, tiny particulate matter -- known as PM 2.5, which lodge deep in a person's lungs -soared overnight on Nov. 8 to
726, according to a U.S. embassy monitor.

World Health Organization guidelines suggest
exposure to levels of about 10, while anything less than 50 is considered healthy and levels above 300 are considered "hazardous." At 2 p.m Wednesday, Beijing had a level of around 76 while pollutants in Delhi's air measured 833.

A recent report from the Lancet Commission on
Pollution and Health said air pollution kills
roughly 6.5 million people each year and that all forms of pollution cost the global economy $4.6 trillion annually. In developing countries,
pollution-related illnesses drag dowin productivity and reduce annual economic output by as much as 2 nercent researchers said.

The organizers of an international half marathon scheduled Nov. 19 said they are constantly monitoring the situation but have decided to hold the race.
To minimize the impact of pollution, the organizers will wash the entire 21- kilometer course with effluent water mixed withsalt accord in σ to a statement.