3 ms·
The air quality issue alone is mind-boggling. The air quality index nominally tops out at 500, corresponding to 'hazardous.' Major Indian cities blow past this
by qnleigh 10mo ago
The air quality issue alone is mind-boggling. The air quality index nominally tops out at 500, corresponding to 'hazardous.' Major Indian cities blow past this threshold on a regular basis in the winter months. In Delhi, poor air quality is responsible for one in seven deaths annually [0]. People born in Delhi now are estimated to lose 8-12 years in life expectancy, depending on the study [1]. This is the norm for now, but it's hard to imagine how much worse things can get.
[0] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/toxicity-15-of-deaths-in-delhi-linked-to-air-pollution-says-study/amp_articleshow/125013234.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/toxicity-15-o...
[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61793884 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61793884
- vunderba 10mo agoI was in India for a wedding a few years back and spent a couple days in New Delhi. I remember stepping out into the 6AM brisk morning air and feeling like I was going to cough up a lung. It tasted like what I imagine a finely aged glass of acid rain would taste like. You know how when you open the weather app on your phone, in normal places it says things like: sunny, cloudy, rainy? The weather app just showed SMOKE (this was an actual weather report). This is partially a result of agricultural burning in the surrounding states which is one of the fastest (and cheapest) ways to clear out the fields for the next crop.