[UPDATE] New Delhi Air Pollution Worsens as Smog Becomes Visible From Space, Politicians Blame Each Other

New Delhi's air pollution is worsening as the smog in the Indian city has become visible from space and as politicians are now playing the blame game.

The situation was the result of seasonal fires, which have caused a slew of air pollutants to obscure the skies across northern India. It has registered "very unhealthy" air quality in New Delhi and caused schools to be shut down.

New Delhi Air Pollution

(Photo : Arun SANKAR / AFP) (ARUN SANKAR/AFP via Getty Images)
India's New Delhi is suffering with air pollution that has continued to worsen as the smog is now visible from space and politicians are playing the blame game.

Advisories also recommend residents to avoid spending a lot of time outside within the city, which has experienced toxic smog from around the beginning of November. In a statement, an aerosol scientist at Morgan State University and NASA, Hiren Jethva, said that the smoke has gone all over to the Bay of Bengal.

He added that fire activity so far is lagging behind other years but noted that the number of incidents was still enough to create the air quality issue in the vicinity of the burning region. NASA's satellite imagery was able to pick up the thick plume of smoke pollution sprawling across the northern parts of the country, as per the Washington Post.

Experts noted that the air quality index in the city for PM2.5, which is a particularly hazardous pollutant known as particulate matter 2.5, reached 285. This is the very unhealthy threshold and is the second most severe level.

The tiny pollutants, which span one-thirtieth of the width of a human's hair, can travel into people's lungs and bloodstream and cause heart disease or lung cancer. The severe drop in air quality, particularly around the capital, occurs every year in the months ahead of winter.

Every November in India, farmers in the northwestern region burn off excess paddy straw after the rice harvest to clear the land for the next crop. This is a practice that is known as stubble burning. The smoke from the efforts then spreads across the region, including New Delhi, which is home to roughly 35 million people.

Worsening Conditions

The latest development comes after New Delhi has spent more than a week with pollution levels in the "severe" category. On top of the seasonal burning, the situation is also caused by cars, factories, construction, and power plants that give off dangerous pollutants, according to The Guardian.

Despite the air pollution situation in the region happening every year without fail, politicians are not willing to take responsibility. Instead, in the last week, a familiar political blame game has ensued as lawmakers from opposing parties, state governments, and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government have tried to shift responsibility onto each other.

One resident, identified as Prachi Bhuchar, said that it was a sad thing that the pollution situation comes around in November every year. He said that when the season approaches, a sense of dread looms as the air turns foul.

The pollution has also threatened the ongoing Cricket World Cup after Sri Lanka was forced to cancel their training session over the weekend. In an attempt to ease the conditions, India's cricket board last week announced a new ban on firework displays for the remaining matches of the tournament, said CNN.