A trash heap 62 meters high shows the scale of India's climate challenge

[progree]

(203 feet, 20 stories, about as tall as the Taj Mahal)

various excerpts --

A trash heap 62 meters high shows the scale of India's climate challenge, CNN, 12/11/22

At the Bhalswa landfill in northwest Delhi, a steady flow of jeeps zigzag up the trash heap to dump more garbage on a pile now over 62 meters (203 feet) high. Fires caused by heat and methane gas sporadically break out – the Delhi Fire Service Department has responded to 14 fires so far this year – and some deep beneath the pile can smolder for weeks or months, while men, women and children work nearby, sifting through the rubbish to find items to sell.

Some of the 200,000 residents who live in Bhalswa say the area is uninhabitable, but they can’t afford to move and have no choice but to breathe the toxic air and bathe in its contaminated water.

[the Global Methane Pledge] India says it won’t join because most of its methane emissions come from farming – some 74% from farm animals and paddy fields versus less than 15% from landfill.

“If sustained for a year, the methane leak from this landfill would have the same climate impact as annual emissions from 350,000 US cars,” said GHGSat CEO Stephane Germain.

[the water in the area] “This water is not only unfit for drinking but also unfit for skin contact,” she said. “So it can’t be used for purposes like bathing or cleaning of the utensils or cleaning of the clothes.” Most people in Bhalswa rely on bottled water for drinking, but they use local water for other purposes – many say they have no choice.

More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-trash-heap-62-meters-high-shows-the-scale-of-india-s-climate-challenge/ar-AA158IAP

And all the air quality and breathing issues, especially when a large fire breaks out ..

[dalton99a]

1. Near the Taj Mahal:

Garbage covers the area by the Yamuna river near the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. (Pawan Sharma / Associated Press)


Rubbish collected on the banks of the Yamuna River, next to the Taj Mahal. Agra, India.