NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday unveiled a new weapon against air pollution — an “anti-smog gun” which authorities hope will clear the skies above New Delhi, but which environmentalists say amounts to a band-aid solution.

The cannon’s Indian manufacturers say the fine droplets of water it ejects at high speed can flush out deadly airborne pollutants in one of the world’s smoggiest capitals.

The giant mister — shaped like a hair dryer and mounted on a flatbed truck — was tested in Anand Vihar, an area of Delhi’s east bordering an industrial zone that often boasts the dirtiest air.

The US embassy website on Wednesday showed concentrations of the smallest and most harmful particles known as PM2.5 at Anand Vihar hit 380 — more than 15 times the World Health Organisation’s safe maximum.

The cannon — designed to combat dust on mining and construction sites — costs roughly $31,000 but government officials appear ready to open the cheque book.

“If it proves to be successful, then we will roll these out on Delhi’s streets as soon as possible,” Imran Hussain, Delhi’s environment minister, told reporters in Anand Vihar as the cannon spurted mist under hazy skies.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2017