Declare health emergency: Environmentalists urge PM as pollution spikes

As pollution levels in the entire north India rose alarmingly over the last two days, environmental organisations on Thursday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and all state governments to declare a national health emergency.

"Almost all of north India from West Bengal to Punjab is reeling under severe air pollution that is verging on hazardous. This is causing irreversible health harm to every single resident of these areas," said 'The Clean Air Collective', a network of organizations, citizens groups and institutions working towards the common objective of clean air.

"We request the prime minister and all state governments to declare a national health emergency, enforce existing laws on trash and biomass burning strictly and focus on controlling emissions arising from all sources urgently," they said.