Thick smoke over Indian capital after landfill site catches fire
Al JazeeraThe landfill in Bhalswa in the city’s north is taller than a 17-storey building and covers an area bigger than 50 football fields. Acrid smoke is hanging over New Delhi for a second day after a massive landfill caught fire during a scorching heatwave, forcing informal waste workers to endure hazardous conditions. The Indian capital, like the rest of South Asia, is in the midst of a record-shattering heatwave that experts said was a catalyst for the landfill fire. The landfill in the latest fire was planned for closure more than 10 years ago, but about 2,300 tonnes of the city’s rubbish is still dumped there every day. “With high temperatures, this spontaneous combustion will take place,” said Ravi Agarwal, the director of Toxics Link, a New Delhi-based advocacy group that focuses on waste management.