New Delhi's air quality has plummeted to alarming levels, with smog significantly reducing visibility and pushing the AQI above 450. Stubble burning, traffic, and industrial emissions are blamed.

Whatever the causes of the smog, by one ranking Delhi was not just the most polluted city in the world, but “nearly five times as bad as the second most polluted city, Dhaka,” in Bangladesh next door, as Shashi Tharoor, a leader of the opposition in Parliament and best-selling author, posted on X.

Unhealthy

Hundreds of millions of Indians breathe some of the world’s most toxic air all year round. Air pollution in the capital area that’s home to about 30 million people is especially stubborn. In winter, the cold weather actually makes the smog even worse — and potent.

India's capital was left gasping this week as air pollution smog reduced visibility to near zero and raised air quality levels more than 130 times safe limits.

The toxic smog shrouding New Delhi this week was so bad that the capital’s chief minister declared a “medical emergency.”

Pollution levels in Chandigarh - India's first planned city, located about 240km (150 miles) from capital Delhi - have been at more than 15 times the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for more than a month.

Strong surface winds (at speeds of 15km/hr) that had helped disperse pollutants on Sunday, dropped to near-calm levels of 4-6km/hr by Monday morning, leading to a haze engulfing the city again. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 285 (“poor”) at 9am on Monday,