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.

India's capital city of Delhi has virtually shut down as air pollution hit "severe plus" levels, according to Indian government officials in its pollution control authority.

Air pollution in India's capital Delhi has soared to extremely severe levels, choking residents and engulfing the city in thick smog. Monitors recorded pollution levels of 1,500 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 15:00 IST (09:30 BST), according to tech ...

Delhi recorded air pollution more than 17 times above an acceptable level as worsening smog triggered curbs on trucking and shuttered construction sites and schools.

India’s capital region, Delhi, has virtually come to a halt as air pollution levels reached a “severe plus” category, creating what officials have described as a public health emergency.

Delhi's average air quality index (AQI) remained in the "severe" category at 423 as of Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. Mundka (464), Wazirpur, and Alipur (462) were the city's most polluted areas.

As air quality index levels reach alarming figures, concerns continue to grow about the impact of pollution on public health and safety.