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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11893294" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="new-delhi" source="Orion">New Delhi</keyword>'s first-ever 'smog tower' uses 40 giant fans to purify the air in a 0.4 square mile radius.</li><li>Air quality is a major problem in New Delhi, and the city's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called it <a href="https://twitter.com/arvindkejriwal/status/1190124368241795073?lang=en">a "gas chamber" in 2019</a> due to the overwhelming <keyword id="11932995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="pollution" source="Orion">pollution</keyword> there.</li><li>Critics say the government should focus on reducing emissions instead of building smog towers.</li></ul>The Indian capital of New Delhi opened the country's first "smog tower" on Monday in a bid to purify air in the world's most polluted capital city, but experts aren't convinced that it's effective, reported local <keyword id="11893589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news" source="Orion">news</keyword> outlets. Using 40 giant fans and 5,000 filters, the 82-foot tower sucks in polluted air from the top, filters it, then pumps it out from the bottom, per <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/indias-first-smog-tower-inaugurated-in-delhi-2516569">local news NDTV.</a> According to <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/indias-first-smog-tower-inaugurated-in-delhi-7466677/">The Indian Express</a>, the tower covers a radius of 0.4 square miles, and filters around 35,000 cubic feet of air a second."Today is a big day for Delhi in its fight for clean air against pollution," the city's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210823-indian-capital-opens-first-smog-tower">said at the opening, per AFP.</a>Kejriwal <a href="https://twitter.com/arvindkejriwal/status/1190124368241795073?lang=en">called New Delhi a "gas chamber" in 2019</a> due to the overwhelming pollution there, but air pollution continues to be a major problem across <keyword id="11892747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>. <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30298-9/fulltext">A 2020 Lancet study</a> found that 1.67 million deaths were attributable to air pollution in 2019.New Delhi has been the world's most polluted capital for the last three years, according to reports from <a href="https://www.iqair.com/world-air-quality-report">IQAir, a Swiss group that monitors air quality levels</a>. IQAir measures air quality <a href="https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics">based on PM2.5</a>, fine airborne particles that cause inflammation in the lungs and respiratory tract and can lead to serious health problems.New Delhi air regularly exceeds PM2.5 safe levels by up to 20 times, according to IQAir, and experts have said that the city will need at least <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-needs-213-smog-towers-will-build-1-in-cp-on-trial-basis-govt-in-sc-6154599/">213 smog towers</a> to resolve the pollution issue.The single tower unveiled on Monday is a pilot program, and authorities will study it for two years to determine its effectiveness, reported NDTV.But critics have maligned the smog towers as a costly distraction from what they say is the real solution - curbing emissions. "Let's just be clear that this is futile, an absolute waste," Karthik Ganesan, a research fellow from the Council on Energy, <keyword id="11901561" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="environment" source="Orion">Environment</keyword> and Water, told AFP.Tanushree Ganguly, a programme lead from the council, said there is no scientific evidence to show that the towers can effectively reduce pollution levels, per NDTV.The tower's $2 million price tag was another concern for Dipankar Saha, a former additional director for India's Central Pollution Control Board, per The Indian Express."The tower is localized. How many such installations are required for Delhi at such a high investment cost?" he told The Express. In 2018, China built a similar smog tower - <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2128355/china-builds-worlds-biggest-air-purifier-and-it-seems-be-working">a 328-foot air purifier</a> - in the city of Xian. Authorities are still assessing its effectiveness, but said that preliminary results were promising.

India installs its first 'smog tower' - a giant purifier made out of 40 fans that filters out deadly pollution in New Delhi

<ul><li><keyword id="6964390" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="air-quality-levels-in-delhi">Air quality levels in Delhi</keyword>, the most polluted mega-city in the world, had already dropped to ‘poor’ on Monday and is expected to worsen.</li><li>Farmers continue to burn stubble with some in Punjab recently protesting against the lack of compensation for using alternatives to crop burning. </li><li>There seems to be a lack in coordinated action among governments.</li></ul>Despite ample warnings, it appears that Indian authorities have again been unable to wield enough pressure or incentivise farmers sufficiently in Northern India to halt the practice of burning stubble. <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/stubble-burning-doubles-delhi-pollution-harvard-study/articleshow/63593281.cms">Studies</a> have shown that this stubble burning contributes to at least half of the pollution and toxic haze problem in India’s capital region. The air quality in Delhi and surrounding cities reach toxic levels every year in October and November as the temperature drops and the pollutants stay suspended as the wind slows down. While the number of stubble burning sites seem lower than last year according to satellite data, that number might go up in the coming week. Air quality levels in Delhi had already dropped to ‘poor’ as of Monday, according to the Air Quality Index. A combination of stubble burning in the Northern states, vehicle exhaust and construction dust contribute to toxic levels of pollution in Delhi, which is the most <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/delhi-world-s-most-polluted-city-mumbai-worse-than-beijing-who/story-m4JFTO63r7x4Ti8ZbHF7mM.html">polluted city</a> in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. Despite penalties and a ban in place by the National Green Tribunal on stubble burning, farmers in have continued to burn stubble. Some farmers in Punjab have also recently been protesting against the lack of compensation for using alternatives by<a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/defiant-farmers-burn-stubble-post-videos-online-5403716/"> posting videos </a>of stubble burning online. Insufficient compensation In recent years, India’s central and state governments have attempted to introduce financial incentives and subsidies on the farm equipment needed to help farmers switch to cleaner methods of getting rid of harvest stubble instead of burning crop residue to clear farmlands for the next sowing season. However, farmers contend that despite the subsidies these machines are still very expensive and the cost of these machines has shot up further ever since the government announced these subsidies. Instead, the farmers have demanded <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/TnZW7bjXA3wHbeqqDYd3pM/Delhis-air-quality-set-to-worsen-as-stubble-burning-intensi.html">direct compensation</a> of ₹200 ($2.71) per quintal of paddy harvested. One farmer in Punjab <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/TnZW7bjXA3wHbeqqDYd3pM/Delhis-air-quality-set-to-worsen-as-stubble-burning-intensi.html">told</a> the Mint - “The number of machines that have been purchased on subsidy will not even cover 10% of Punjab’s paddy area... besides it costs farmers over ₹5,000 per acre for straw management by rented machines.” Additionally, Punjab also imposes a fine of ₹2,500 per acre, which dwarfs in comparison to the cost of alternatives, farmers say. “I will set fire to my farm to clear it. If need be, I will pay the fine because there is no other option,” a farmer in Punjab <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/india/delhi-still-grasping-for-breath-as-stubble-burning-continues-in-punjab-haryana-1546059.html">told </a>News18. Removing crop residue is also seen as a labour-intensive process in both Punjab and Haryana, both states have shifted to high mechanisation in recent years. With farm labour being either unavailable or too expensive, burning the stubble is seen as a cheaper option. To be sure, efforts are also underway by various non-governmental and local organisations to create a market for the stubble for use in biofuels, for instance, but they will take time to catch on. The governments also appear to be lacking in coordinated action to address the problem. Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has reportedly said that his government took up the issue with the other state governments but no “concrete action” had been taken by them. Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sympathies-with-farmers-but-dont-burn-crop-residue-amarinder-singh-1932592">urged </a>the central government to grant ₹100 per quintal as compensation to Punjab farmers, failing which he said it would be tough for the state to control stubble burning. Delhi also plans to implement emergency measures in the coming weeks if the air quality worsens including a prohibition on burning of waste, curb on construction activity and the use of diesel generator sets in the city.

Indian govt on back foot as stubble burning worsens air pollution in the national capital

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New <keyword id="11892835" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="delhi" source="Orion">Delhi</keyword> is considered the world's most-polluted capital city.</li><li>The toxicity of its air rose to dangerous levels this week, partly fuelled by <keyword id="12206242" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fireworks" source="Orion">fireworks</keyword>.</li></ul><keyword id="12230730" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="air-pollution" source="Orion">Air pollution</keyword> levels in New Delhi, <keyword id="11892747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s capital city, got even worse after people ignored a ban and held firework displays to mark the festival of Diwali.New Delhi is <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/new-delhi-is-worlds-most-polluted-capital-third-straight-year-iqair-study-2021-03-16/">considered the world's most-polluted capital city</a>, and had an especially poor day Friday, the day after Diwali celebrations.Authorities typically ban fireworks for the festival in India, but people often use them anyway, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/partys-over-diwali-leaves-delhi-wheezing-dangerously-unhealthy-air-2021-11-05/">Reuters noted</a>.This video shows fireworks in Delhi, and smog in the city:Experts found on Friday that the city's air had an average of 706 micrograms of PM2.5 - a small and health-damaging particle - per cubic metre of air, Reuters reported.Some parts of Delhi were at 999 micrograms on Friday, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-59172888">the BBC reported</a>.The World Health Organization says that levels it's unsafe to have an annual average above of five micrograms.<a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ambient-%28outdoor%29-air-quality-and-health">It says</a> that these particles "can penetrate the lung barrier and enter the blood system" and that "chronic exposure to particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as of lung cancer."Indian authorities warned the conditions in New Delhi were "severe" and could damage people's health, according to Reuters.The levels will take until Sunday to improve, and even then air quality would be qualify as "very poor," the BBC reported.

The air in New Delhi, the world's most polluted capital, got even worse after people ignored a ban to fill the air with Diwali fireworks

<ul><li>SC asks Centre to call environmental experts, including from IIT, to the court within 30 minutes.</li><li>The apex court blamed the state government for the high levels of pollution across all major stations in Delhi.</li><li>Pollution level in Delhi peaked to a three-year high on Sunday </li></ul>The <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> of India asked the Indian government to call environmental experts from IIT, and other top institutions within half an hour to address the hearing on Delhi’s pollution crisis. It further took serious note of crop burning in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP, says it cannot go unabated every year. “Can we survive in this atmosphere? This is not the way we can survive, Delhi is choking every year and it cannot be done in a civilised country. No one is safe even inside homes; it is atrocious. People are losing precious years of their lives due to pollution,” said SC on Delhi-NCR pollution. The apex court blamed the state government for the high levels of pollution across all major stations in Delhi. SC said it will not tolerate this and make state governments liable for them. Delhi records poorest air quality in 3 years Pollution level in Delhi peaked to a three-year high on Sunday notwithstanding claims of heightened checks and curbs by authorities. The Centre reviewed the situation with the governments of Delhi, Haryana and Punjab and announced that Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba would monitor it on a daily basis. After Delhi, all schools up to Class 12 were also closed in the National Capital Region till Tuesday. Heavy smog disrupted traffic at Delhi airport as 37 flights were diverted and more than 250 departures and 300 arrivals were delayed were due to poor visibility, officials said. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the national capital's 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 494 at 4 pm on Sunday, the highest since November 6, 2016 when it was 497. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called Delhi a "gas chamber" and blamed stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab for the apocalyptic haze shrouding Delhi. The share of stubble burning in Delhi's pollution stood at 46% on Friday, the highest so far. It dropped to 17% on Saturday and is expected to be at 12% on Sunday, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality monitor SAFAR. (With inputs from PTI) See also: <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="71885433" title="These 8 houseplants can save you from plummeting air quality levels" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

SC says bring environmental experts to court within 30 mins over Delhi air crisis

China's smog - which routinely engulfs major cities like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-smog-2014-1">Beijing</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/shanghai-smog-2013-12">Shanghai</a> - is notorious, and it's recently reached "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/smog-hits-danger-levels-in-beijing-2014-1" target="_blank">danger levels</a>." But the the smog in New Delhi, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/world/asia/beijings-air-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?hpw&amp;rref=health&amp;_r=0" target="_blank">The New York Times reports</a>, is actually worse.
The air in New Delhi "is more laden with dangerous small particles of pollution, more often, than Beijing's," Gardiner Harris <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/world/asia/beijings-air-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?hpw&amp;rref=health&amp;_r=0" target="_blank">writes</a>, and "a very bad air day in Beijing is about an average one in New Delhi." 
The death rate due to chronic respiratory diseases is <a href="http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.A866?lang=en" target="_blank">higher in India than anywhere else in the world</a>.
It was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/smog-hits-danger-levels-in-beijing-2014-1" target="_blank">big news</a> when a measure of the concentration of fine particulate matter - the very dangerous air pollution that is absorbed into your lungs - climbed over 500 in Beijing. But Delhi had already reached those "danger levels" on eight separate days this year, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/world/asia/beijings-air-would-be-step-up-for-smoggy-delhi.html?hpw&amp;rref=health&amp;_r=0" target="_blank">Harris writes</a>.
Here's what smoggy Delhi looks like on the ground.
<div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wili/295189351/">wili_hybrid / Flickr</a>A New Delhi sunset. "The air was so full of smog particles," the photographer wrote, "that the sun often disappeared completely into the fog."</div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/noii/2424727254/">Ben Dalton / Flickr</a>Here the morning smog is so thick you can barely make out the famous Jama Masjid in the distance.</div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/footfun/3089166157">Evan Lovely / Flickr</a>Delhi's smog viewed from above.</div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image">B Mathur / ReutersIndia's presidential palace, Rashtrapati Bhavan, engulfed in smog.</div></div><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image">Mansi Thapliyal / ReutersThick smog hangs over Delhi's polluted river Yamuna.</div></div>

Think Beijing's Famous Smog Is Bad? Delhi's Is Worse [PHOTOS]

Welcome back to <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">10 Things in Politics</a>. <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/10-things-in-politics">Sign up here to receive this newsletter</a>. Send tips to <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a> or tweet me at <a href="https://twitter.com/BrentGriffiths">@BrentGriffiths</a>.Here's what we're talking about:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taliban-warn-consequences-if-us-extends-august-31-withdrawal-deadline-2021-8">Taliban warn of 'consequences' if the US extends its military presence in Afghanistan</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/6-ad-executives-on-how-to-win-over-the-vaccine-hesitant-2021-8">6 advertising executives on how to win over the vaccine hesitant</a></li><li><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/23/pelosi-budget-package-showdown-506589">House Democrats are locked in a standoff over their $3.5 trillion spending plan</a></li></ul>With Phil Rosen.1. BIDEN'S LOOMING DECISION: President Joe Biden will have to run the gauntlet on his Afghanistan exit. He is mulling extending his self-imposed deadline for US forces to leave Kabul by August 31. An extension would be welcomed by many American allies, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-johnson-push-biden-afghan-deadline-extension-2021-08-23/">including the UK</a>, that have been pressing for such a decision. But the Taliban have threatened "consequences" if the US extends its longest war.Biden could make his decision as soon as today: <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/23/politics/afghanistan-kabul-airport-military-deadline/index.html">The Pentagon has told the White House it needs a quick decision</a>, given the amount of time it will take to withdraw the nearly 6,000 troops on the ground - and their equipment - after the civilian evacuations conclude, CNN reports.<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taliban-warn-consequences-if-us-extends-august-31-withdrawal-deadline-2021-8">The Taliban have drawn a red line</a>: "If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations - the answer is no. Or there would be consequences," a spokesman for the militant group told Sky News.</li></ul>An extension would also come amid security concerns: US troops are using alternative routes to the airport because of the threat posed by an Islamic State cell, CNN reports. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/21/politics/kabul-airport-terror-warning/index.html">The Pentagon is aware that large crowds create a target for terrorist groups</a>. Violence is already occurring, as an Afghan officer <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kabul-airport-firefight-afghan-guards-gunmen-death-injuries-2021-8">was killed Monday in a firefight with "unknown attackers."</a><ul><li>But it could also leave Afghans who helped Americans out in the cold: Officials told The Washington Post that an extension would most likely focus on evacuating remaining Americans, not Afghans trying to flee. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-kabul-evacuations-extension-pressure/2021/08/23/c649f182-0425-11ec-ba15-9c4f59a60478_story.html">Access to the airport is already said to be largely if not entirely cut off to Afghans who worked for the US</a>.</li><li>Not extending the deadline poses its own problems: The House Intelligence Committee's chairman, Rep. Adam Schiff, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schiff-says-its-unlikely-get-everyone-out-afghanistan-by-deadline-2021-8">told reporters on Monday that the US was unlikely to get everyone out in just a week</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/crowds-at-kabul-airport-so-large-seen-from-space-satellite-2021-8">The crowds at the airport are so large they can be seen in satellite photos</a>.2. FDA approves COVID-19 vaccine for first time: The Food and Drug Administration issued full approval for Pfizer and BioNTech's shot, which will now be marketed under the brand name Comirnaty. Public-health officials, virologists, and legal experts think <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-gains-full-fda-approval-2021-8">full approval could help persuade more hesitant people to get vaccinated</a>.<ul><li>Key stat: A recent poll found 30% of adults said they would be more likely to be vaccinated if one of the three shots already used in the US received full FDA approval. <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-june-2021/">That scenario has now happened</a>.</li></ul>The new "Mad Men" think they know how to sell the shot: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/6-ad-executives-on-how-to-win-over-the-vaccine-hesitant-2021-8">6 advertising executives on how to win over the vaccine hesitant</a>.WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-delta-variant-changed-course-of-pandemic-2021-8">How the Delta variant has changed the course of the pandemic</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-delta-variant-changed-course-of-pandemic-2021-8"><div type="image" title="Insider video" height="618" width="1174" msid="85591327" hostid="261"></div></a><ul><li>Fauci says COVID-19 can be brought under control by spring 2022: Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN that he misspoke during an earlier interview in which he said the US might not be able to get a grip on the pandemic until fall 2022. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-covid-19-can-be-brought-under-control-spring-2022-2021-8">Medical experts say the longer people remain unvaccinated, the greater the chance another variant will arise</a>.</li></ul>3. House Democrats are locked in a standoff over a major proposal: Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent lawmakers home after midnight after hours of negotiations with centrist Democrats failed to yield a deal to move forward on the party's massive $3.5 trillion spending plan, Politico reports. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the de facto leader of the holdouts, had been moving toward cutting a deal with Pelosi, but five other lawmakers are still dug in. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/23/pelosi-budget-package-showdown-506589">The latest on the internal drama over a massive part of Biden's agenda</a>.<div type="image" title="New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a news conference the day after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation at the New York State Capitol, in Albany, New York, U.S., August 11, 2021." height="1664" width="2500" msid="85591329" hostid="261"></div>4. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/onlyfans-platform-alternatives-sex-work-entrepreneurs-2020-11"></a>Kathy Hochul is now governor of New York: Hochul was sworn in early Tuesday as the first woman to lead the Empire State, following Andrew Cuomo's decision to resign amid sexual-harassment allegations, The New York Times reports. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/nyregion/kathy-hochul-governor-ny.html">Hochul will have to juggle numerous pressing issues right away</a>.<ul><li>Cuomo reportedly tried to get rid of his dog: Staffers were asked whether they wanted Captain - a shepherd, Siberian, and malamute mix - the Times Union reports. A Cuomo representative denied the now-former governor tried to paw off his friend. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuomo-dog-captain-left-behind-governor-mansion-moving-out-ny-2021-8">More on the dog days</a>.</li></ul>5. Far-right host Alex Jones breaks with Trump over vaccines: Jones shamed former President Donald Trump for advising attendees of his rally in Alabama over the weekend to get vaccinated. "Maybe Trump's actually a dumbass," Jones said. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/far-right-talk-show-host-alex-jones-calls-trump-dumb-2021-8">Some people at the rally even booed Trump after his suggestion</a>.6. Vice President Kamala Harris issues major rebuke of China: Harris called out Beijing for its incursion into the South China Sea, saying during an address in Singapore that its actions there amounted to "coercion" and "intimidation," the Associated Press reports. The vice president is trying to use her trip through Southeast Asia to cement the US's commitment to its allies in the region. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-business-969fe25162023468754e57746d6da80d">Harris' comments come at a critical time for the White House</a>.7. Capitol Police finds shooting of rioter Ashley Babbitt was "lawful": The department's decision to formally close its investigation follows the Justice Department's determination that charges were not warranted, The Times reports. Babbitt was among a group of people who tried to push their way through the entrance to the Speaker's Lobby not far from where officers were evacuating lawmakers from the House chamber on January 6. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/us/politics/capitol-police-ashli-babbitt.html">More on the news</a>.<div type="image" title="Smog Tower in New Delhi" height="3666" width="4888" msid="85591331" hostid="261"></div>8. India installs its first "smog tower" consisting of 40 giant fans: The Indian capital of New Delhi opened the country's first "smog tower" in a bid to purify the air in the world's most polluted capital city, but experts aren't convinced it's effective. <a href="https://www.insider.com/new-delhi-first-smog-tower-40-giant-fans-filter-pollution-2021-8">Critics say the government should focus on reducing emissions instead of building smog towers</a>.<ul><li>Deadly heat waves have spurred the hiring of "chief heat officers" all over the world: From Miami to Athens, these new leadership positions are meant to guide tourists and citizens through extreme weather and explore new ways to cool cities down. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heatwave-miami-athens-chief-heat-officers-climate-crisis-extreme-temperatures-2021-8">See the view from these "urban heat islands."</a></li></ul>9. Sex workers are furious over OnlyFans' policy change: Insider checked in with three sex workers to discuss OnlyFans' new restrictions on sexually explicit content. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/onlyfans-sex-workers-on-adult-explicit-content-ban-2021-8">They shared how they'd adapt: "We'll find a way to survive this exodus," one said</a>.<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/onlyfans-platform-alternatives-sex-work-entrepreneurs-2020-11">These are some of the alternatives they may turn to</a>.</li></ul>10. Stop counting your steps. Instead, count your minutes: Doctors say you could more readily meet your health goals by focusing on daily movement rather than step count. Daily activity counters and avoiding a sedentary schedule can help keep you healthy and mobile. <a href="https://www.insider.com/minutes-moved-better-activity-target-than-steps-count-doctors-say-2021-8">The 10,000-steps-a-day rule is arbitrary</a>.Today's trivia question: Over the weekend, Harris <a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/us-vice-president-kamala-harris-orchid-welcome-istana-official-visit-2130576">received an orchid named in her honor</a>. In her native California, the world's second-largest tree is named after which president? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at <a href="mailto:bgriffiths@insider.com">bgriffiths@insider.com</a>.<ul><li>Today's answer: Chuck Hagel, the former defense secretary and senator, was the only federal politician to receive a donation from Alex Trebek. The Nebraska Republican and the legendary "Jeopardy!" host <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/georgetownuniversity/7091100151">met when Hagel was CEO of the USO</a>. As for replacing Trebek, the former "Big Bang Theory" star Mayim Bialik <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/23/media/mayim-bialik-jeopardy/index.html">will be the show's first guest host after Mike Richards withdrew</a>.</li></ul>

10 Things in Politics: The Taliban push back on Biden

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/cairo">Cairo</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/egypt">Egypt</a> is one of the most polluted cities in the world, if not the No.1 most polluted.</li><li>I recently visited and found that, even after just a day in the city, I could feel the effects on my breathing, sleep, and skin. </li><li>The experience reminded me of how lucky I, as an American, am to have the air quality in the country I live. I think most Americans have no conception of what it is like to live in a heavily polluted city like much of the world in Egypt, China, India, or elsewhere.</li><li>The Egyptian government is taking steps to improve air quality, with a plan to reduce air pollution by 50% by 2023. </li></ul> I don't think I understood what it was like to live in a truly polluted city until I'd been to one.As an American, I'd never really experienced a place choked with smog. New York, my home, is only the 21st most polluted city in the world, according to a <a href="http://blog.theecoexperts.co.uk/most-polluted-cities">recent study by Eco Experts</a>, which combines data on air quality, noise pollution, and light pollution. Los Angeles, which I've been to a few times, comes in tenth.That's a far cry from the cities that top the list, where checking particulate matter levels, or PM, is as routine as checking the weather.I got my first taste of the smog life in April, when I visited Shanghai and Beijing, seventh and third on the Eco Experts' list, respectively.While the pollution was noticeable - I saw a blue sky only a few times on that trip - I was in town during comparatively the best time of the year, pollution-wise. The winter in Beijing, when millions are burning coal for heat, is when the real pollution rolls in.<h2>Cairo is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and you can feel it</h2>But, as I rode in a taxi from the Cairo Airport this past week, it hit me that I'd entered the big leagues.A city of more than 20 million people, Cairo is the <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/15-biggest-cities-in-africa.html">most-populated city in the Middle East</a> and the second-most populated in Africa. It feels like it.Every highway, road, and alleyway is clogged with cars and motorbikes spewing fumes into the air. The honking never stops: long honks, short beeps, and everything in between. The cars, and their drivers, are in every kind of conversation imaginable. Other noises proliferate, from street-side shouts to the rumble of construction. Every street seems to have a construction site and a building under renovation or being built.Cairo is the most polluted city in the world, according to the <a href="https://blog.theecoexperts.co.uk/most-polluted-cities">Eco Experts' report</a>. WHO's <a href="https://www.who.int/airpollution/data/cities/en/">Global Ambient Air Quality Database</a>, which solely focuses on multiple measures of air quality, ranks Cairo second worst for PM10, or particulate matter that is 10 micrometers in diameter or less. When judging by PM2.5, or particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less - the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/05/02/world-health-organization-air-pollution-affects-90-population/572825002/">worst kind of pollution</a>, according to the Environmental Protection Agency - Cairo is not quite as bad, but still near the bottom.Particulate pollution is made up a mix of solid and liquid droplets in the air, including sulfates, nitrates, and carbon. It's largely caused by energy used by homes, automobile traffic, manufacturing, and power plants. Sand or desert dust <a href="http://www.who.int/news-room/detail/02-05-2018-9-out-of-10-people-worldwide-breathe-polluted-air-but-more-countries-are-taking-action">can add to the</a> air pollution. In Cairo's case, the city is located in a valley and has a large industrial sector, tons of traffic, poor waste management, and a dusty climate, <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1368046/middle-east">according to Arab News</a>."Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalized people bear the brunt of the burden," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO's director general, <a href="http://www.vox.com/2018/5/8/17316978/india-pollution-levels-air-delhi-health">said in a statement</a> regarding its most recent report.On average, residents of Cairo breathe in air suffused with 11.7 times the WHO recommended safe level of PM2.5 and 14.2 times the safe level of PM10. Translation: The air is really bad, and you can feel it.<h2>Dry mouth, itchy eyes, and rashes - bad pollution can have immediate effects</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Within a day of being in Cairo, the effects started to settle in. When I woke in the morning to look out the window the first few days, a thick haze lay over the city.After a few hours walking around in even one of the more green neighborhoods - the embassy-populated, moderately wealthy island of Zamalek - I found myself severely dehydrated despite having a water bottle by my side the whole time. The taste in my mouth was bitter, my nostrils felt caked in dust, and my eyes had grown itchy. The best way to describe it is that it feels like you are constantly at a construction site, with sawdust or concrete dust in the air. After a few days, I'd found that my skin, unused to the pollution, was breaking out in hives on my face.And that's just the air pollution.Cairo's noise pollution is arguably even worse, though it is rarely talked about. Eco Experts' research found that Cairo is the third loudest city in the world, after Guangzhou and Delhi. A report by the Egyptian National Research Center found noise pollution in Cairo reaches a daily average of 85 decibels or, in the words of Eco Experts, "like spending all day inside a factory." Even at 3 a.m., the honks don't stop.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>The aforementioned honking, shouting, and construction noises are ever-present, no matter where you are in the city. It literally leaves your ears ringing. Even as a New Yorker who lived for years above bars in the rambunctious East Village, I found the noise to be a shock.Combine that with the light pollution - Eco Experts reported Cairo the third-brightest city in the world, with artificial light 85 times brighter than the natural sky - and it all makes for a bad night of sleep.Every night, I slept with blackout curtains drawn and earplugs in. And still, I found myself to be getting terrible sleep. Every day, I overslept and woke up groggy. Before you assume <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jet-lag-symptoms-what-is-how-to-avoid-recover-get-over-2018-12">jet lag</a>, I was in the region for three weeks and slept fine while in the United Arab Emirates.<h2>Pollution can have devastating effects over time</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>All of this after a week. Imagine living in it for a few months, a year, or your whole life.My partner, who has more sensitive lungs than I do, contracted pneumonia and a respiratory infection halfway through a semester studying in Shanghai. When we visited Shanghai in April, she'd contracted a wheezing cough after a day in the city.Researchers and scientists are still studying the effects of pollution on humans, but it has been connected to health conditions like asthma, lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, according to WHO <a href="http://www.epa.gov/air-quality-management-process/managing-air-quality-human-health-environmental-and-economic%0A">and the EPA</a>. Researchers suspect that pollution is connected to obesity, insomnia, depression, as well as effects on the <a href="http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/How-Does-Pollution-Affect-Humans">immune, endocrine, and reproductive systems</a>.One recent study out of Beijing Normal University's school of statistics found that <a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/news-air-quality-brain-cognitive-function/%0Ahttps://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/09/news-air-quality-brain-cognitive-function/%0A">long-term exposure to particulate matter</a> was correlated with cognitive declines in study participants as they aged.The Egyptian government <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1368046/middle-east">pushed back on the Eco Experts report</a> shortly after it was published, criticizing the methodology of the study. But there's no denying the pollution in Cairo. It would appear the Egyptian government agrees with that much.Earlier this year, the government announced a plan to reduce air pollution by 50% by 2023 and began an initiative to plant one million fruit trees in public spaces throughout the country.A major pollution issue for Egypt since 1997 has been farmers' yearly burning of leftover rice straw from September to November, which can create a "dark cloud" over Cairo. To tackle the issue, the government has offered to buy the straw from farmers for $3 a ton, Mohamed Salah, head of the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency said in October."Today, the dark cloud season is over and all citizens in Egypt are saying that they have not sensed any problem relating to this, unlike what had happened in previous years," Salah said.But, for this American in Cairo, I found the city to be stark reminder of how lucky the US is when it comes to air quality and pollution and how little we bear the burden of global manufacturing and other polluting industries around the world.When I told one Beijing resident in April that I head to the countryside outside New York City when I want fresh air, he looked at me incredulously. "You have to understand, we think of New York City air as pristine," he said.

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