Acrid smoke hung over New Delhi for a second day on Wednesday after a massive landfill caught fire during a scorching heat wave, forcing informal waste workers to endure hazardous conditions.
A boy rides a bicycle amid thick smoke coming out of a fire at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi, India, April 27, 2022.
The landfill in northern Delhi’s Bhalswa is taller than a 17-story building and covers an area bigger than 50 football fields. Waste workers who live in nearby homes had emptied onto the streets on Tuesday evening. But by Wednesday morning, the thousands of people who live and work at the landfill had begun the dangerous process of trying to salvage garbage from the fire.
Fire officials try to douse a fire at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi, India, April 27, 2022.
“There’s a fire every year. It is not new. There is risk to life and livelihood, but what do we do?” asked Bhairo Raj, 31, an informal waste worker who lives next to the landfill. He said that his children studied there and he couldn't afford to leave.
A rickshaw drives amid thick smoke coming out of a fire at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi, India, April 27, 2022.
The Indian capital, like the rest of South Asia, is in the midst of a record-shattering heat wave that experts said was a catalyst for the landfill fire. Three other landfills around the Indian capital have also caught fire in recent weeks.
Smoke rises from a fire at the Bhalswa landfill, in New Delhi, India, April 27, 2022.
The landfill in the latest fire was planned for closure more than a decade ago, but more than 2,300 tons of the city's garbage is still dumped there every day. The organic waste in the landfill decays, resulting in a buildup of highly combustible methane gas.
Delhi fire officials take a break while dousing a fire at the Bhalswa landfill in New Delhi, April 27, 2022.
March was the hottest month in India in over a century and April has been similarly scorching. Temperatures crossed 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in several cities Tuesday and are forecasted to continue rising.
A woman who salvages rags and lives on the edge of Bhalswa landfill walks past during a fire in New Delhi, India, April 27, 2022.
“India's current heat wave has been made hotter by climate change,” said Dr. Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute in Imperial College London.
A thick layer of smoke coming out of a fire at the Bhalswa landfill envelopes the area, in New Delhi, India, April 27, 2022.
