Other Indian cities join Delhi in air pollution emergency

November 7, 2016 3oliver

AP Photo/Manish Swarup

LUCKNOW, India (AP) — The sickening air pollution that led the Indian capital to shut schools and construction sites this week has prompted similar measures in neighboring cities.

Officials in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh say they expect the acrid smog to blanket the state within days.

For more than a week, New Delhi’s skies have been filled with a thick haze that has made people’s eyes sting and their throats sore. Air pollution experts blame myriad pollution sources, from diesel-burning cars and seasonal crop burning to garbage fires and stoves fueled with kerosene and cow dung. Winter weather patterns also mean there is less wind to circulate the air.

In the Uttar Pradesh district of Ghaziabad, east of New Delhi, schools are closed Monday and Tuesday along with those in the capital.