India air is so dirty, children are throwing up

New Delhi: A toxic cloud has descended on India's capital, delaying flights and trains and causing coughs, headaches and even highway pile-ups, prompting Indian officials to take the unprecedented step of closing 4000 schools for nearly a week.

Cows stand by the side of a road as a truck drives
with lights on through smog in Greater Noida, near Delhi. 

Delhi has notoriously noxious air but even by the standards of this city, this week's pollution has been alarming, reaching levels nearly 30 times what the World Health Organisation considers safe. On Tuesday, the government decided to close primary schools and on Wednesday the closures were extended to all public and most private schools.

For those of us living here, the air pollution is sickening. Many people feel nauseated all day, like from a never-ending case of car sickness. The air tastes smoky, and in some neighbourhoods, it smells like paint.

Even if you have air filters in your house, as some of us do, a faint lingering chemical smell always seems to find its way in, through air conditioner vents, open windows and cracks in the doors.

Read Kai Schultz’s story in today’s Melbourne Age - “India air is so dirty, children are throwing up.”