00:00In fact, talking about India, let me bring in a twist to the story over here and bring your perspective.
00:05It is not just India that is dealing with pollution menace.
00:08We've spoken about this several times.
00:10Biggest countries in the world, from London to Beijing, have had this issue.
00:14Cities across the world are battling deteriorating air quality,
00:16but the difference lies in how authorities respond.
00:22London, for example, lays a pollution alert after PM 2.5 levels
00:27crossed 100 micrograms per cubic meter.
00:30And the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, urged residents to take precautions.
00:35Imagine that. I'm saying that number again.
00:37PM 2.5 in London crossed 100.
00:41And there is a panic in the system.
00:43The mayor is talking to people, asking them to ensure that their vehicles are down,
00:47asking them to be very cautious about what they are burning, all of that.
00:51While Delhi, you know the pollution numbers, and what are we doing?
00:57Life.
00:57Life is usual.
00:58In London, PM 2.5 levels touched 129 micrograms per cubic meter
01:04at one monitoring station in Hillingdon.
01:07One monitoring station.
01:09That is more than eight times the World Health Organization daily guidelines of 15 micrograms.
01:1511 monitoring stations recorded pollution in the highest category as well.
01:18The mayor issued a high pollution alert on the 10th of November.
01:22Residents were advised to avoid unnecessary exposure,
01:24switch off their car engines when waiting, and avoid burning garden waste as well.
01:29Vulnerable people, including those with existing health conditions, were asked to take extra care.
01:35Now, while you look at that figure, and while you look at the response London had, take a look at
01:39the Delhi equation at the moment.
01:40PM 2.5 levels have remained alarmingly high on the night of Diwali.
01:45The concentration was 3,744 micrograms per cubic meter at one monitoring station.
01:53That is more than 60 times the CPCB's 24-hour permissible limit.
02:00And yet, the response largely follows a familiar pattern.
02:03Restrictions are announced or tightened after pollution levels have already, you know, surged.
02:08Emergency measures kick in, but there is no prevention at all.
02:13Now, why does London issue a public alert at these levels?
02:16Why can't India learn anything from that approach?
02:20And are India's, you know, pollution control measures just too reactive, just don't have enough teeth?
02:27Are we caught up between, you know, too many different systems who are trying, you know, hard to fight pollution,
02:33but just not getting at it?
02:34What's the problem?
02:36Let's get a London perspective.
02:38Joining us next is Alex Seal.
02:41He's a journalist in London and joins me live now.
02:43Hi, Alex.
02:44Thanks so much for being here, for, you know, giving your perspective at this point.
02:49We just put out a graphic to show the difference between the air in London versus the air in Delhi
02:54at the moment.
02:55Both alarming, but the degree of alarm very, very different.
02:59So, firstly, I want to know what exactly is the condition at the moment in London,
03:04and what kind of measures has the government imposed to fight this pollution?
03:08Yes, well, London has been experiencing some particularly concerning air pollution over the past few days,
03:17following a combination of dense fog, very light winds, and fireworks celebrations.
03:22And what happened was that the smoke from Bonfire Night, which is celebrated here in Britain on November the 5th,
03:32as well as the Diwali fireworks and domestic wood burning, became trapped close to the ground
03:40because there simply wasn't enough wind to disperse it.
03:44Now, as you said, London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, issued a high air pollution alert for yesterday, Tuesday,
03:52following advice from scientists at Imperial College London.
03:57And interestingly, the BBC reports that actual pollution levels were lower than initially expected,
04:07although there had been a significant buildup over the weekend.
04:10And this is the fourth high air pollution issued in the British capital this year.
04:22The previous one was during a heat wave in June.
04:26And the authorities have been urging Londoners to use public transport and unnecessary car journeys
04:34and stop burning wood or garden waste.
04:37And warnings have also been sent to schools, local councils and care homes,
04:43while GPs and emergency departments have received additional information to help protect vulnerable patients.
04:51And the weather has certainly been making matters worse,
04:55because the Met Office, the Weather Department, says persistent high pressure, light winds,
05:01and weak November sunshine have allowed fog to linger for much longer than usual.
05:09But there is some encouraging news.
05:10Forecasters expect increasing winds to help disperse the pollution and prevent further widespread fog.
05:19So ultimately, this has raised wider concerns about air quality in London,
05:24particularly at this time of the year when fireworks, bonfires, and colder weather can combine
05:31to create potentially harmful conditions.
05:34Yeah.
05:35Alex, two cities, miles and oceans apart, but same contributors, firecrackers at the moment.
05:42That seems to be spiking, you know, bad air quality in your city and also in mine.
05:47But the response that we see is a little different.
05:51In India, if I could give you the reality, people have gotten used to this being the pollution season.
05:55People pack up their bags and go off to the hills because they say it's just unbearable for our kids,
05:59especially for older people as well.
06:01What's been the response like in London?
06:04And now that the mayor is also speaking about it, will it go beyond advisories?
06:08And will there be more action as expected?
06:11We have a long history of London fighting pollution.
06:13Back in the day, you know, the president's secretary was mowed down by a bus because of such poor visibility.
06:21That's what got the attention of, you know, the prime minister to really,
06:26Winston Churchill, if I'm not wrong, back then, to take up the issue of air pollution head on.
06:31So many years down the line, what are you seeing as a response coming from the, you know, higher authorities?
06:38Yes, well, the main concern is the impact on public health, particularly for children, elderly people,
06:46and those suffering from asthma and other respiratory conditions.
06:50What makes this type of pollution particularly dangerous is the presence of very fine particles,
06:57known as the PM2.5, which can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream.
07:05Now, the authorities have been advising vulnerable people to limit tenuous outdoor activities when pollution levels are high.
07:13And what's particularly concerning is that this is already the fourth high pollution alert issued in London this year.
07:22So it's not simply an isolated incident, but a reminder of the continuing challenges facing the British capital
07:31when it comes to air quality.
07:33I was out on the streets on Sunday and really the fog was really thick.
07:39So it was very difficult for cars and people to wander about.
07:43And there are some similarities between, particularly when it comes to the weather conditions that trap pollution between London and
07:54Delhi,
07:55because, of course, in India, air pollution following Diwali celebrations has been a major concern for many years.
08:03But I think it's important to distinguish between the two cities.
08:07New Delhi experiences much more persistent and severe air pollution, particularly during the winter months.
08:15And here in London, we're dealing with a shorter pollution episode made worse by fireworks, bonfires,
08:23domestic wood burning and stagnant weather conditions.
08:27And the encouraging news is that conditions in London have already begun to improve as the weather changes.
08:35But this episode does raise an important question about whether major cities are doing enough to protect the public health
08:46during periods of high pollution.
08:48Yeah, you're absolutely right.
08:50The sad part is that we wait for the weather to clear up and, you know, drive the pollution away.
08:54That's the sad part, depending on environment to clear up its own when the problem has been so man-made.
09:01And that's the trouble, really, that we are not in control.
09:03We are hoping for the weather gods and the wind gods to come and breeze it out, really, which is
09:07really, really worrying.
09:08But thanks, Alex, for joining us with that perspective.
09:11Just trying to, you know, get a hang of it at 100.
09:14London is, you know, on alert at 3,000.
09:18We are work as usual.
