India's capital introduces stricter anti-pollution measures as toxic smog hides Taj Mahal

NEW DELHI — India’s government banned non-essential construction in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, and urged residents to avoid burning coal for heating, to combat worsening air quality that has disrupted flights and obscured the Taj Mahal.

The new measures, which include sprinkling water with dust suppressants on roads, as well as mechanized sweeping that would help settle dust, came into effect on Friday morning.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, who uses only one name, also directed all primary schools to shift to online classes.

They measures also include a ban on non-essential construction and an appeal to citizens to use more public transport and avoid using coal and wood for heating, a government release said Thursday, without saying how long the measures would be in place.

Air quality in northern India has deteriorated over the past week, with toxic smog obscuring India’s famed monument to love, the Taj Mahal, about 136 miles from New Delhi, as well as Sikhism’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

New Delhi has a severe air quality level of 424, according to live rankings kept by Swiss group IQAir, the worst among global capitals.

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The city battles smog — a toxic mix of smoke and fog — every winter as cold air traps dust, emissions and smoke from illegal farm fires.

Around 38% of the pollution in New Delhi this year has been caused by stubble burning — a practice where stubble left after harvesting rice is burned to clear fields — in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.

Delhi flights faced delays, with tracking website Flightradar24 showing 88% of departures and 54% of arrivals were delayed as of Thursday afternoon due to smog.

Officials blamed high pollution, combined with humidity, becalmed winds and a drop in temperature for the smog, which cut visibility to 980 feet at the city’s international airport, which diverted flights in zero visibility on Wednesday.

More patients flocked to hospitals, particularly children.

“There has been a sudden increase in children with allergies, cough and cold ... and a rise in acute asthma attacks,” Sahab Ram, a pediatrician in Punjab’s Fazilka region, told news agency ANI.

Delhi’s minimum temperature fell to 61 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday from 63 degrees the previous day, weather officials said.

Pollution in New Delhi was likely to stay in the “severe” category on Friday, the earth sciences ministry said, before improving to “very poor,” or an index score of 300 to 400.

The number of farm fires to clear fields in northern India has risen steadily this week to almost 2,300 on Wednesday from 1,200 on Monday, the ministry’s website showed.

Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab, was rated the world’s most polluted city on Friday, in IQAir’s rankings. Authorities there have also battled hazardous air this month.