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.

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.

Unhealthy

The AQI in Delhi dropped to ‘very poor’ category by Monday evening due to low winds and continued to be at the same level on Tuesday morning.

Delhi's air quality remained stagnant in the "very poor" category on Tuesday, with experts warning that it may deteriorate to "severe" levels in the next 24 hours due to a change in wind patterns