The Indian city of New Delhi has closed schools, halted construction and ordered that all roads be doused with water to settle dust in order to combat crippling air pollution. The capital, which is one of the world’s dirtiest cities, saw levels of PM2.5, tiny particulate matter that can clog lungs, climb to over 900 micrograms per cubic metre on Saturday. This is more than 90 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organisation and 15 times the Indian government’s norms. The severe pollution at the weekend followed a week of constant grey smog. New Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said schools would be closed for three days, and all construction and demolition activity stopped for at least five days. He also said a coal-fuelled power plant on the edge of the […]