Delhi bans old cars from refuelling to help tackle city's pollution

Cars much than 15 years aged volition soon beryllium barred from refuelling successful New Delhi, the city's authorities said Saturday, arsenic portion of measures to trim the Indian capital's hazardous contamination levels.

New Delhi is regularly ranked arsenic 1 of the astir polluted cities successful the satellite and is blanketed successful acrid smog each year.

The contamination is chiefly blamed connected cultivation burning by adjacent farmers to wide their fields for ploughing, arsenic good arsenic factories and postulation fumes.

Cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds worsen the concern by trapping deadly pollutants each winter.

Diesel and petrol cars older than 10 and 15 years respectively are not allowed to ply connected Delhi roads but galore person been recovered flouting the rules.

Delhi's situation curate Manjinder Singh Sirsa told reporters Saturday that the determination to halt substance for the aged cars was made astatine a "marathon meeting" connected aerial contamination to "find retired the diseases and its remedies".

"We person decided to halt giving substance to vehicles much than 15 years aged aft March 31, 2025," helium said.

He said "gadgets" would beryllium installed astatine petrol pumps to place specified vehicles.

Sirsa said different decisions taken see turning barren onshore into "new forests" and getting assemblage students progressive successful planting.

He besides said the authorities would marque it mandatory for precocious rises, hotels and Delhi airdrome to instal anti-smog guns and gadgets to power pollution.

The nationalist wellness situation has grown steadily worse implicit the years and weeks-long schoolhouse closures crossed the capital, aimed astatine shielding susceptible children from the harmful air, are present an yearly occurrence.

At the highest of the smog, levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- unsafe cancer-causing microparticles tiny enought to participate the bloodstream done the lungs -- surged to much than 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended regular maximum.

Piecemeal authorities initiatives, specified arsenic partial restrictions connected fossil fuel-powered transport and h2o trucks spraying mist to wide particulate substance from the air, person failed to marque a noticeable impact.

ash/mtp