Calling air pollution "fog" and a couple other things that bother me

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-37887937

On Sunday, the government of Delhi, India, announced that schools will remain closed for the next three days after air pollution hit record highs. The PM (defined by the EPA, "as particle pollution, is a complex mixture of air-borne particles and liquid droplets composed of acids (such as nitrates and sulfates), ammonium, water, black (or "elemental") carbon, organic chemicals, metals, and soil (crustal) material") was 2.5, which is 90 times higher than what the WHO considers safe, and 15 times higher than Indian government standards. 

The city's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, said that the government will also ban construction and demolition for 5 days and water will be sprinkled on the streets to keep dust from flying around. Other measures, such as shutting down a coal-based power plant and preventing fires on landfill sights, were also proposed by Kejriwal's government. 

While talking to my parents (who recently moved to New Delhi) this morning, they pointed out how the Indian news was covering the air pollution issues. Indian news outlets were calling it "fog". When did air pollution that can cause severe health problems, as BBC reported "WHO figures show that about 620,000 people perish every year from pollution-related diseases," become just another type of cloud? I think this goes back to Nick's comment in class about raising more awareness so that there is more people-power involved in fighting climate change, but I'm not sure that can come without the backing of governments in power. I am a big fan of the Delhi/Kejriwal government, but India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is the worst thing that has happened to the country and his government reminds me of certain politicians here in the US. The PM has not once spoken about India's battle with climate change, and it is long overdue.

I was originally going to write about the day the US chooses to have elections. Why does it happen on a Tuesday? Voter registration laws are already bad enough, so having elections on a Tuesday makes it even worse. (re: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0bMfS-_pjM) Honestly, it doesn't make any sense to me. Or I wanted to talk about the Dakota Access Pipeline and how it has neglected the livelihoods of Native American people (and the perfect timing of the irony that was the Cleveland Indians overshadowing the issues of the actual "Indians"). But with my parents living in the world's most polluted city, the story I chose was a little more important, personal (and biased).