appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Agence France-Presse

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday urged greater efforts to clean up New Delhi’s toxic air as she pledged one billion euros (US$1.12 billion) to help Indian cities switch to green transport.
Merkel became a rare foreign leader to speak out on India’s smog crisis after being exposed to the capital’s air on Friday, when authorities said the pollution had reached “emergency” levels.
Schools were ordered closed until Tuesday and all construction halted, while Delhi authorities started distributing millions of anti-pollution masks to children.
Merkel went on a ceremonial parade in the city with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday as the smog intensified.




Neither leader wore masks despite authorities telling residents to stay indoors to avoid the haze.
Merkel said Germany would spend one billion euros on “green” urban transport projects in India over the next five years, including 200 million euros to replace diesel buses in Tamil Nadu state.
“These diesel buses are to be replaced by electric buses and anyone who saw the pollution in Delhi yesterday would find very good arguments for replacing even more of these buses,” Merkel said in the widely reported speech.
Modi’s plan to modernise India’s railways: too little, too late (just like the trains)?
Much of the new peak in the most dangerous PM2.5 pollutants – particulates smaller than 2.5 microns that get into the lungs and bloodstream – has been blamed on fires lit by farmers to burn off wheat crop residues outside of the capital.

Higher winds improved air quality on Saturday but pollution remained “severe”, according to government monitors.
The city will be under a new spotlight on Sunday when India play Bangladesh in a cricket international.
The two teams have insisted they will go ahead with the match despite the pollution threat.
Some Bangladesh players and bowling coach Daniel Vettori trained in masks at the Arun Jaitley stadium, where the Twenty20 match is to be played.
Authorities have ordered trees in and around the stadium to be sprayed with water to collect dust.
They have also set up special patrols to stop construction work and garbage burning.

Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah Riyad said the team had spoken about the pollution dangers but there was little they could do.
The India advantage: why China’s tech workforce can’t gain traction in Silicon Valley
“When we came here there was smog, we all know, but the players have practised for the last three days, trying to adapt to the conditions,” he said.
“It’s not within our control, we have to focus on our cricket.”
Delhi has faced a mounting pollution crisis over the past decade.
Fourteen Indian cities including the capital are among the world’s top 15 most polluted, according to the United Nations.
According to one study, smog kills a million Indians prematurely every year.


Bangladesh tests its India ties by seeking China’s aid for Teesta River

The West was never the whole world. It’s time to move on

Iran war fallout triggers massive biofuel shift across Asia

Beyond bamboo: Vietnam’s To Lam mounts a diplomacy offensive

India

Germany’s Merkel gets a taste of Delhi’s toxic air, and pledges US$1.1 billion to help clean it up

A cyclist amid morning smog in New Delhi, India. Photo: AP

This handout photograph released by India's Press Information Bureau (PIB) and taken on November 1, 2019 shows India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) walking with German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to a meeting at the Lok Kalyan Marg in New Delhi. (Photo by Handout / PIB / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / PIB" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks with a driver of an electric vehicle at a metro station in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019. India and Germany agreed on Friday to enhance cooperation in tackling climate change, cybersecurity, skill development, artificial intelligence, energy security, civil aviation and defense production. The two countries signed several agreements, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying India is eager to benefit from Germany's expertise. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)

News

Asia

South Asia


Chancellor says her country will fund green urban transport projects in India over the next five years after she experiences ‘emergency’ level pollution first hand
Some 200 million euros is being earmarked to replace diesel buses with electric versions in Tamil Nadu state



German chancellor says her country will fund green urban transport projects in India over the next five years after she experiences ‘emergency’ level pollution first hand.


Environment

Angela Merkel

Germany