Masks Are Back, Construction Banned and Schools Shut as Toxic Air Engulfs New Delhi 

Motorcyclists drive wearing pollution masks amid smog in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (AP)
Motorcyclists drive wearing pollution masks amid smog in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (AP)
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Masks Are Back, Construction Banned and Schools Shut as Toxic Air Engulfs New Delhi 

Motorcyclists drive wearing pollution masks amid smog in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (AP)
Motorcyclists drive wearing pollution masks amid smog in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (AP)

A toxic blanket of grey smog hangs over New Delhi’s monuments and high-rises. Schools have been ordered shut and construction banned. People are back to wearing masks.

In the Indian capital, it is that time of the year again. Authorities are struggling to rein in severe air pollution levels, an annual and chronic health crisis that disrupts the lives of over 20 million in the city every year.

On Tuesday, the air quality index veered close to the 400 mark for tiny particulate matter, a level considered hazardous and more than 10 times the global safety threshold, according to SAFAR, India’s main environmental monitoring agency. It’s the fifth consecutive day of bad air in the region.

“There’s too much smog. I’m watching the air quality index and I’m scared about this climate,” said Srinivas Rao, a visitor from Andhra Pradesh state who donned a mask as he took a morning walk near the city's India Gate monument.

Authorities have deployed water sprinklers and anti-smog guns to control the haze and announced a fine of 20,000 rupees ($240) for drivers found using gasoline and diesel cars, buses and trucks that create smog. Meanwhile, doctors have advised residents to wear masks and avoid outdoors as much as possible because the smog could trigger respiratory infections, flu and asthma attacks.

The pollution also threatens to disrupt the ongoing Cricket World Cup, hosted by India, after the Sri Lankan team had to cancel their training session in New Delhi over the weekend, before they faced Bangladesh on Monday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Demand for air purifiers has risen in the past week, local media reported.

Residents like Renu Aggarwal, 55, are worried the smog will worsen as Diwali, the Hindu festival of light that features the lighting of firecrackers, approaches this weekend. Her daughter has a pollen allergy that worsens with pollution.

“She cannot breathe. Even though we keep the doors and windows shut in our home, the pollution still affects her so much that even going to the washroom is difficult for her. And she gets breathless,” she said.

New Delhi tops the list almost every year of many Indian cities with poor air quality, particularly in the winter, when the burning of crop residues in neighboring states coincides with cooler temperatures that trap hazardous smoke.

The burning of crop remnants at the start of the winter wheat-sowing season is a key contributor to the pollution in north India. Authorities have been trying to discourage farmers by offering cash incentives to buy machines to do the job. But smoke from crop burning still accounts for 25% of the pollution in New Delhi, according to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune.

New Delhi saw a sharp 32% rise in tiny particles in the air between 2019 and 2020, a dip of 43.7 % in 2021, and a steady increase in 2022 and 2023, according to Respirer Living Sciences, an organization that monitors air quality and other environmental factors.

The severe air pollution crisis affects every resident in the city, but the millions who work outdoors are even more vulnerable.

Gulshan Kumar, who drives an auto rickshaw, said his nose, throat and eyes regularly fill up with dirt in the air.

His children plead with him to return to his hometown in Bihar state. “They ask me why I work in this polluted and diseased city,” he said. “If I had had employment back home, I wouldn’t have come to Delhi to work.”



KAUST Study: More Large Mammals Roamed Arabian Peninsula than Previously Thought

According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA
According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA
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KAUST Study: More Large Mammals Roamed Arabian Peninsula than Previously Thought

According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA
According to KAUST, the study serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative. SPA

A new study by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), published in the Journal of Biogeography, has identified 15 large mammal species that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula over the past 10,000 years - three times more than previously recognized.
According to KAUST, this study offers the most comprehensive list to date of large mammals from this period and establishes a benchmark for rewilding efforts in the region. It also serves as a key scientific reference supporting the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the Middle East Green Initiative, as well as the programs of the National Center for Wildlife (NCW) and the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development and Combating Desertification.
"Restoration is not just about plants, for animals play a key role in vegetation communities. In highlighting which large mammals became extinct, we are providing information that will help governments decide which mammals to reintroduce in the future,” said KAUST senior project manager and contributor to the study Christopher Clarke.
During the study, researchers analyzed thousands of petroglyphs (ancient rock carvings) collected during field expeditions as well as from shared social media content, which gave researchers access to a large collection of petroglyphs unknown to the scientific community.
The study revealed that most of the 15 mammal species come from Africa, including lions and cheetahs, and identified two species never previously recorded in the Arabian Peninsula: the greater kudu and the Somali wild donkey.
This study aligns with national efforts to restore ecological balance, particularly in light of the pioneering initiatives launched by NCW, including the reintroduction programs for the Arabian oryx and the cheetah.