Scientists who measured levels of tiny, dangerous airborne particles in autorickshaws' backseats said they were the among the worst ever found in a regular form of transport, up to eight times higher than Delhi's already disastrous baseline pollution.
In already smoggy Delhi, India, levels of tiny particulate matter (PM 2.5) more than doubled on 31 October last year, the day after Diwali celebrations.
High levels of tiny atmospheric particles called PM2.5 pose a serious health hazard in many cities - at one 20th the diameter of a human hair, they're small enough to lodge in the lungs and enter the bloodstream.
In contrast the forgery level of tiny archaic Greek and Cretan bronze statuettes, which are simple to cast, is possibly as high as 50percentt.
The level of tiny particulates known as PM 2.5, which lodge deep in the lungs and can enter the bloodstream, was over 400 micrograms per cubic meter in various neighborhoods in and around Delhi Thursday, according to a real-time air quality monitor.
Last week, at the Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits, MIT researchers presented a new power converter chip that can harvest more than 80percentt of the energy trickling into it, even at the extremely low power levels characteristic of tiny solar cells.
To profile the expression levels of these tiny molecules, especially in a point-of-care setting, it is imperative to quantify them directly in complex biological fluids.
Achimescu says it brings levels of the tiny, dangerous particles known as PM10 in the lounge, where Julek and Jasiek sleep, down to 50 micrograms per cubic metre – more than twice the World Health Organisation's recommended safe level.
The move came after levels of PM2.5 - tiny particles that can clog people's lungs - soared to over 90 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO) and 15 times the Indian government's norms.
But as the global elite prepared for closing ceremonies on Tuesday, a putrid haze once again rolled over the city and brought levels of PM2.5, tiny particles that can embed in the lungs, to 239 micrograms per cubic meter.
As a result, levels of the tiniest, most dangerous particles, known as ultrafines, fell 70% in just three years, says Axel Friedrich, former head of transport and noise at the federal environmental agency, and an adviser to government and advocacy groups.
