Toxic Smog Chokes India and Pakistan Ahead of Winter

TaiwanPlus News

People in India and Pakistan are urging their governments to do more to tackle hazardous pollution choking the air. A smog that has descended on both countries is impacting schools and religious festivals and causing a spike in health problems.

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00:00A thick haze engulfs India's capital, New Delhi. Similar scenes in Mumbai, a neighbouring

00:07country, Pakistan, as air pollution reaches hazardous levels, posing a serious health

00:13threat to residents.

00:14Earlier, there was no pollution, so there was no burning in the eyes, no itches on the

00:20skin. But now, because of the pollution, all these problems have come up.

00:24It's a problem of the eyes. Water comes out of the eyes, so we try to get it out as

00:31little as possible, until the air quality control checks what's going on and what's

00:37not.

00:38Every year when temperatures begin to drop, farmers burn their field to prepare for planting,

00:43turning the air toxic in many Indian cities.

00:48That smoke then drifts across the border to Pakistan, aggravating the situation in a region

00:54already ranked among the world's most polluted. And it's not just impacting the air quality.

01:00In Uttar Pradesh, where a religious festival is being celebrated, Hindu devotees swarmed

01:05a holy river only to find toxic foam had formed due to the smoke. Some locals still ventured

01:11in to honour and offer water to the sun deity. But others wouldn't take the chance, taking

01:17aim at the government's inaction in addressing year-round pollution.

01:22We are afraid. We know that this is our holy festival. The government knows that if they

01:28start cleaning the river a month in advance, there won't be so much pollution. But what

01:34can we do? They still don't do anything.

01:37A frustration shared by parents, students and teachers, with the toxic air also prompting

01:43school closures across Pakistan.

01:46You don't control the factories, you don't control the industries, you don't control

01:51the cars that emit smoke. It's not a solution to shut down educational institutions without

01:56being able to control all of this. We also understand that children's health is very

02:01important. Not just children, but adults are also being affected by this.

02:05The problem is so serious. A recent report by leading energy experts found that if the

02:10pollution isn't curbed, the poor air quality could cut five years from the life expectancy

02:14of people in the region. Authorities in Pakistan have set up a smog wall room to attempt to

02:20tackle the issue. But the annual air pollution crisis is not expected to be solved anytime

02:25soon, with the dangerous pollution levels forecast to stick around for at least the

02:30next three weeks. Alex Chen and Rosie Greninger for Taiwan Plus.

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