Delhi - the most polluted city on the planet

Delhi in India has the highest levels of air pollution on the planet but only now are the locals being made aware of it. Daily, its inhabitants breath in air that is so toxic that it can lead to death or serious diseases. We may think London, on a bad day, has problems but these are insignificant when compared with Delhi.

I have heard that pollution is also bad in China.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32352722 .

Mist or pollution?

Sahara Desert

We woke up to a very grey and overcast morning here with lowish temperatures. This may be just mist or the remnants of the recent highish pollution levels (but still way below those in China) - a result of winds from the near continent carrying Saharan sand and industrial chemicals. The weather is set to change and the pollution levels, not bad in our rural spot, set to drop.

Both my son's and my own car have had a thin layer of Saharan sand on them, although this in itself is not that uncommon if the wind and pressure patterns are in the right direction.

The Sahara Desert is well over 1500km away and it is amazing that sand from there is regularly deposited here in the UK.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara .