AP, New Delhi :
The stadiums have been renovated, the publicity posters hung. But not everything was ideal for players in the Under-17 World Cup being hosted in India, with air pollution beyond recognized safe levels in the six cities staging games.
In the hours before the first matches on Friday, levels of lung-clogging particulate matter known as PM2.5 hovered above 170 micrograms per cubic meter in New Delhi – or 17 times higher than what the World Health Organization deems safe, and more than four times higher than India’s own standards.
Meanwhile, concentrations of PM2.5 in Mumbai were also considered unhealthy, registering in some places at 180 mcg per cubic meter.
The high levels are hardly surprising. At least 10 cities in India are among the world’s 20 most polluted.
“If you apply World Health Organization standard as a measure, I think you’ll find it difficult to hold any kind of international sports event in any city of India,” said Anant Sudarshan, India director at the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago.
Given the dangers air pollution poses to soccer players running hard on a field in 90-minute games, some of the six cities hosting games during the Oct. 6-28 tournament had plans for curbing pollution in the short term. The eastern city of Kolkata, which will host 10 matches including the tournament final, directed officials to monitor car emissions within 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of the stadium and to police waste burning.
In New Delhi, where authorities warned that pollution would likely worsen over the weekend, environment ministry officials held a meeting to consider possible action.
Among the opening matches Friday, India was hosting the United States in New Delhi.
The air pollution menace, however predictable, raised little concern with officials at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, according to Joy Battacharya, who heads local committee organizing the matches.
“We have not received any complaint from any participating player or official,” Bhattacharya said in Kolkata.
The stadiums have been renovated, the publicity posters hung. But not everything was ideal for players in the Under-17 World Cup being hosted in India, with air pollution beyond recognized safe levels in the six cities staging games.
In the hours before the first matches on Friday, levels of lung-clogging particulate matter known as PM2.5 hovered above 170 micrograms per cubic meter in New Delhi – or 17 times higher than what the World Health Organization deems safe, and more than four times higher than India’s own standards.
Meanwhile, concentrations of PM2.5 in Mumbai were also considered unhealthy, registering in some places at 180 mcg per cubic meter.
The high levels are hardly surprising. At least 10 cities in India are among the world’s 20 most polluted.
“If you apply World Health Organization standard as a measure, I think you’ll find it difficult to hold any kind of international sports event in any city of India,” said Anant Sudarshan, India director at the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago.
Given the dangers air pollution poses to soccer players running hard on a field in 90-minute games, some of the six cities hosting games during the Oct. 6-28 tournament had plans for curbing pollution in the short term. The eastern city of Kolkata, which will host 10 matches including the tournament final, directed officials to monitor car emissions within 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of the stadium and to police waste burning.
In New Delhi, where authorities warned that pollution would likely worsen over the weekend, environment ministry officials held a meeting to consider possible action.
Among the opening matches Friday, India was hosting the United States in New Delhi.
The air pollution menace, however predictable, raised little concern with officials at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, according to Joy Battacharya, who heads local committee organizing the matches.
“We have not received any complaint from any participating player or official,” Bhattacharya said in Kolkata.
