NEW DELHI, Nov 15: Residents in India's capital New Delhi again woke under a blanket of choking smog on Friday, a day after authorities closed primary schools and imposed measures aimed at alleviating the annual crisis.
Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area, home to more than 30 million people, consistently tops world rankings for air pollution in winter.
The smog is blamed for thousands of premature deaths each year and is an annual source of misery for residents, with various piecemeal government initiatives failing to measurably address the problem.
All primary schools were shut by government order on Thursday night with young pupils -- particularly vulnerable to smog-related ailments due to their age -- instead moving to online lessons.
"I have an eight-year-old kid and he has been suffering from a cough the past couple of days," Delhi resident Satraj, who did not give his surname, told AFP on the streets of the capital.
"The government did the right thing by shutting down schools." —AFP
