http://www.abarrelfull.co.uk/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Maskless_Merkel_Braves_Severe_Delhi_Smog 2026-10-12T12:37:11Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.33.1 http://www.abarrelfull.co.uk/index.php?title=Maskless_Merkel_Braves_Severe_Delhi_Smog&diff=3967&oldid=prev 2020-06-24T00:00:07Z

<p>Created page with &quot;Neither Narendra Modi, nor visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, wore masks to protect themselves from the pollution choking Delhi&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;German Chancellor Angela Merkel...&quot;</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>Neither Narendra Modi, nor visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, wore masks to protect themselves from the pollution choking Delhi&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;German Chancellor Angela Merkel got a toxic welcome to India on Friday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi treated her to a military parade in New Delhi's severely polluted air.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Ignoring medical advice to the choking megacity's 20 million inhabitants, Merkel and Modi reviewed a guard of honour at the presidential palace without pollution masks.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;As on similar ceremonies following a series of shaking spells earlier this year, Merkel, 65, sat for the national anthems.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The European Union's longest-serving leader is due to step down in 2021.&lt;br&gt; Thick smog is blanketing the Indian capital&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Merkel, on her fourth visit to India, thanked Modi for the &quot;very warm and gracious welcome&quot; and said German-Indian ties were &quot;broad-based and deep&quot;, the Press Trust of India reported.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;The Indian government monitoring agency said air in the Indian capital, a noxious cocktail of industrial and vehicle emissions and agricultural smoke from the surrounding regions, was rated as &quot;severe&quot; on Friday.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Especially hazardous levels of particulates smaller than 2.5 microns, so tiny they can enter the bloodstream, were 19 times the World Health Organization's safe maximum, [http://soulofcricketer.mystrikingly.com/blog/sourav-ganguly-in-world-cup-2003 http://soulofcricketer.mystrikingly.com/blog/sourav-ganguly-in-world-cup-2003] data from the US embassy website showed.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;A Central Pollution Control Board official said that pollution entered the &quot;severe plus&quot; or &quot;emergency&quot; category late Thursday night, the first time since January.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;India is home to 14 of the 15 most polluted cities in the world, according to the United Nations.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;According to one study, smog kills a million Indians prematurely every year.&lt;br&gt; Residents of Delhi are advised to wear masks to protect them from the worst effects of the smog&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Delhi's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said Friday that authorities would begin distributing five million pollution masks to schoolchildren.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;He blamed neighbouring states, where thousands of farmers at this time of year burn crop stubble, sending vast clouds of smoke drifting across northern India.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;On Thursday India's top pollution watchdog extended a night-time ban on construction in the city until Saturday and recommended a temporary shutdown of power plants in towns around Delhi.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;- Cricket doubts -&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;The high levels of pollution, which were forecast to blanket Delhi in the coming days, threw into doubt a cricket match between India and Bangladesh scheduled for Sunday.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Bangladesh's coach Russell Domingo and spin bowling coach Daniel Vettori wore masks in training on Friday morning.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;In December 2017 two visiting players from Sri Lanka vomited on the pitch because of the smog and play in the Test match was briefly suspended.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;Sourav Ganguly, the new head of India's cricket board the BCCI, said on Thursday that scheduling of matches in northern India during winter needs to be &quot;little bit more practical&quot;.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;But, he said, nothing could be done for this weekend.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&quot;It's too late to do anything (for Sunday's match)... So it's not possible to cancel things at the last minute,&quot; Ganguly told Indian media.&lt;br&gt; &lt;br&gt;&quot;I spoke to the groundsman. He says once the sun comes out, it will be fine.&quot;&lt;br&gt;</div>

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