India to Halt Some Coal-Fired Plants to Clean Delhi’s Air
- The city has struggled with poor air quality for a fortnight
- Toxic winter smog envelops Delhi and its suburbs every year
A Delhi Metro train travels along an elevated track shrouded in smog in New Delhi on Nov. 9.
Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/BloombergIndia has directed six coal-fired power plants located around Delhi to shut down until the end of this month as part of measures to clean some of the world’s dirtiest air, as a cloud of smog has enveloped the city and its suburbs for nearly two weeks.
The federal Environment Ministry late Tuesday also barred the entry of all trucks except those carrying essential items into the National Capital Region of Delhi and encouraged citizens to work from home to curb pollution. The decision came after officials from the Delhi government and the neighboring states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana met to discuss ways to check the soaring pollution.