'My daughter warned by teacher': US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on rising Delhi pollution levels

Talking about the worsening air quality level in Delhi, Eric Garcetti, US Ambassador to India, on Thursday compared his experience in the national capital to growing up in Los Angeles in the US. He added that Los Angeles has the worst air quality in all of America.

The Ambassador further added his daughter was warned against going outside to play due to the dire air situation in the national capital by her school teacher just like he was given. 

"On a day like this in Delhi, it brings back memories of growing up in Los Angeles where the air was the most polluted air anywhere in America. Where like today, we were given warnings by our teachers that you cannot go outside to play, just as my daughter was given by her teacher today as I dropped her off to school," Garcetti said. 

Garcetti's comments came as air quality worsened from 'very poor' to 'hazardous' in various parts of the national capital and the adjoining National Capital Region (NCR). Air quality in Delhi's Rohini stood at 652 and at 657 in Jahangirpuri whereas the AQI in Delhi's Mundka area was at 616 on Thursday. 

The season's worst AQI so far was recorded on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday at around midnight with Anand Vihar topping the chart at 736. At this time, many other areas of Delhi also witnessed air quality in the range of 300-511. 

Commenting on the worsening air quality situation, a Met Department spokesperson told India Today that the AQI across Delhi-NCR is expected to remain poor due to farm fires in Punjab and low wind speed. 

"With farm fires in Punjab continues and the wind speed is low, the AQI across NCR is expected to remain poor. The pollution is getting trapped in the Himalayan plains and since Delhi is geographically closed to Punjab, it will bear the brunt of the smog from farm fire," said a MeT department spokesman.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has told the forest department that it was responsible for the capital's air quality and must take steps to ensure that the Air Quality Index (AQI) improves. 

While dealing with issues of creation of an alternate forest in Delhi and filling up forest department vacancies, Justice Jasmeet Singh said that children are suffering from asthma due to polluted air. 

(With India Today, ANI inputs)

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