Delhi considers shutting schools as toxic smog continues

Authorities in Delhi are considering shutting schools in the sprawling Indian capital as a bout of toxic smog stretches into a second month. The megacity, already the world’s most polluted by some measures, has been suffering record levels of pollution which exceed recommended WHO guidelines by between 15 and 30 times. The smog, a combination of exhaust from cars and lorries, dust, smoke from fires and industrial output which is intensified by cold temperatures, is predicted to last for months to come. India has taken one of the hardest public lines at the climate change talks now reaching a climax in Paris, and in the lead-up to them. The country was notably late in submitting its national plan on curbing emissions, which focused on renewable energy and invoked the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi. Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, has publicly argued that it would be “morally wrong” to let rich countries off the hook for their historical emissions. This line has been continued by India’s negotiating team at the talks. Levels of pollution in Delhi have been consistently higher than in Beijing, where officials have ordered a virtual shutdown to prevent harm and cut soaring pollution levels. Authorities in Delhi have struggled to formulate a coherent strategy to tackle the problem which has been building up over years. Last week the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, announced a scheme to cut traffic, and thus pollution, by allowing cars with licence plates ending in odd and even numbers to drive only on alternate days. Two coal-burning power stations have also been shut. “We will only take decisions after consulting schools. We have 2.6 million children in Delhi schools, they are big stakeholders. There has been a proposal to shut schools between 1 to 15 January. We are considering it,” Manish Sisodia, Delhi education minister, told local media. Studies in Delhi have shown the smog is causing irreversible damage to the health of millions of children in the city, many of whom walk to school along busy roads at peak times for pollution. Many schools have already restricted outdoors activities. Kejriwal said earlier this week that he had been waiting to improve public transport before restricting car use but the acute pollution of recent weeks had made swift action essential. The poor record of authorities enforcing headline measures has made many observers sceptical that these new efforts will have any effect. A ban on diesel vehicles more than 10 years old descended into chaos earlier this year, with traffic jams at checkpoints, and was effectively withdrawn. Around 70,000 trucks cross Delhi every night because successive governments at state and national level have failed to construct bypasses. Attempts to increase the numbers of buses have failed. Growing consciousness of the problem in the capital, and in heavily polluted cities across the emerging power has begun to impact on politicians however. “Clean air is a human right,” environment minister Prakash Javadekar, one of the Indian negotiators in Paris, told the Guardian earlier this year. India has opposed the inclusion of a 1.5C temperature limit – which many of the poorest nations want – in the draft text prepared in Paris. Delhi, along with China and Saudi Arabia, prefer a ceiling of 2C, which would allow them to burn fossil fuels for longer. But India’s hard line has been counterbalanced by a strong focus on technology and energy. On the first day of the talks, India unveiled a global solar alliance of 120 countries to promote the technology.