New Delhi- Schools were shut across India’s capital on Friday as a noxious grey smog engulfed the megacity and made life a misery for its 30 million inhabitants. Smoke from farmers burning crop stubble, vehicle exhaust and factory emissions combine every winter to blanket Delhi in a choking haze. The public health crisis has persisted for decades and researchers have blamed the smog for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths across India. Visible smog is a burden for residents through much of the year but the problem peaks at the start of winter around the Hindu festival of Diwali. That practice is one of the key drivers of Delhi’s annual smog problem, worsening the impact of vehicle and industrial emissions.
