Nov 23, 2017

😡 No End To India's Air Pollution Crisis

Revue

Oxygen Mag

November 23 · Issue #27 · View online

Handpicked stories for people who care about clean air.

🙏 Namaste! K chaa?

It’s Amrit from Kathmandu this week. It’s so nice to see sunshine and blue skies here after the past couple weeks in Delhi. Kathmandu has it’s fair share of air pollution worries (mostly dust), but it’s refreshing to be here. Delhi had some respite too due to winds blowing the smog away temporarily, and unsurprisingly several people rushed to take credit for improving Delhi’s air. Now, the smog and “very unhealthy” levels of air pollution are back.

But there is some good news worth celebrating. Some journalists have been doing a remarkable job over the past two weeks covering Delhi’s air pollution. In this issue of Oxygen Mag, I bring you some of those:

🙄 Are you kidding me? That's really how Delhi tried to fight air pollution last week.

Handpicked Stories For You 🙌

😡 Dear Environment Minister, Stop Denying The Seriousness of Smog

www.youtube.com – Share

The environment minister, Dr Harshvardhan, has in successive interviews said the dangerously high levels of pollution in Delhi do not constitute an emergency. MUST WATCH.

📈 Delhi's off-the-charts smog, explained

www.vox.com – Share

Excellent story by Vox’s Umair Irfan about Delhi’s surge in air pollution. We need more well thought out stories with proper context. MUST READ.

🇮🇳 India: New Delhi is the most polluted city on earth right now

edition.cnn.com – Share

Fresh air doesn’t exist in New Delhi at the moment. NUMBER ONE.

💀 Delhi's Toxic Sky - The Atlantic

www.theatlantic.com – Share

Toward the end of autumn, parts of northern India and Pakistan are frequently covered by a thick smog caused by a temperature inversion. This year is particularly bad. PHOTOS.

🤢 Delhi, Blanketed in Toxic Haze, ‘Has Become a Gas Chamber’

www.nytimes.com – Share

A thick haze has settled over New Delhi, where pollution has hit hazardous levels. VIDEO BY NYT.

⛑ Reverse migration? Pollution in India's cities draws residents back to rural life

www.reuters.com – Share

Namita Singh’s young daughter suffered from bronchitis when the family lived in Lucknow. They moved to Dehradun. But for most of the country, can you really outrun air pollution? RUN.

☔ Delhi pollution: 75,000-litre water sprinkled at ITO fails to make a difference

www.hindustantimes.com – Share

It sounds silly. It looks silly. And it turns out, it was a utter waste of resources too. Delhi decided to “make it rain” with fire trucks and helicopters. NOT KIDDING.

🏃 Runners Compete In Delhi Half Marathon Amid Heavy Pollution

deadspin.com – Share

Oh yes, one more thing! Nearly 30,000 runners competed in a half-marathon and shorter races on Sunday raced amid heavy pollution. Everybody’s a winner of the DARWIN AWARD!

“I have run a 100km race at over 4000m altitude, I’ve raced through the night, through two nights, at below -20°C and above +35°C, but I still can’t believe they ran the Delhi half marathon yesterday.” -Lauri Myllyvirta, Green Peace

A Note From Smokey's Nest 🌲

✈️ If you are in Delhi and want to get together for coffee and chat about air pollution, reply to this e-mail, and we’ll make it happen. I’ll be back in Delhi soon and be in town for a while, if my lungs and heart can hold up.

👉 My Oxygen Mag is your Oxygen Mag: If you want to curate an upcoming issue on your research, interests, products or city/country, just let me know!

Until next week,

-Amrit Sharma 😷
Founder, AirAirAir and Smokey
New Delhi, India
http://www.airairair.org/map
http://twitter.com/amrit_sharma

Bonus: An Op-Ed by Shankkar Aiyar about the 20 year history of India’s air pollution denial. It’s worth a read.

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