Emily James (previously) writes, "The air in Delhi is so polluted the government's instruments can't measure it but they are still going to run a half marathon on Sunday!"
Delhi's air quality displays can't go above 500 – which they quite rightly describe as hazardous and dangerous. The real story is much much worse. Last week they smashed through 1500! That means the air in Delhi is a poisonous soup of harmful particles.
And yet, what could easily be described as the world's most toxic road race, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon is set to go ahead on Sunday and the organizers are claiming there is nothing to worry about.
Lets just remember that when the Californian wild fires were raging and devastating the landscape they pushed the levels to 200, and quite rightly triggering a public health emergency in the Bay Area. 200 is Delhi on a good day. 200 is what the organizers say is fine to run in. It is actually double what the World Health Organization says is safe to run in.
This noxious atmosphere kills tens of thousands every year. Last year air pollution killed over 30,000 in Delhi alone. In a totally messed up coincidence, that is the same amount of people who are running the race this year.
