Pollution is so bad in India’s capital city people are taking ‘smog selfies’

Pollution is so bad in India's capital city people are taking 'smog selfies'. The Indian government declared an "emergency situation" in New Delhi on Sunday as air pollution hit dangerous new highs — and residents have the selfies to prove it. Officials announced a slew of measures to combat toxic smog in the capital city, including halting construction projects, canceling school, closing a coal-fired power plant for 10 days and dousing the dusty roads with water. Other selfie snappers joined hundreds of protesters in downtown New Delhi to demand the government address the deadly smog. Their match and one other for the Ranji Trophy were cancelled this weekend due to the city's rising pollution levels. New Delhi, already one of the world's dirtiest cities, is experiencing its worst smog in nearly two decades. The city saw levels of PM2.5 — the tiny particulate matter than can clog lungs — of more than 900 micrograms per cubic meter on Saturday. That's more than 90 times the level that World Health Organization considers safe and is 15 times higher than the Indian government's norms. In China, Beijing and other major cities are also combatting crippling air pollution. Image: Jia qing - Imaginechina Tourists wearing face masks take a selfie on the Tiananmen Square in heavy smog in Beijing, China, Dec. 24, 2015.