India's capital, New Delhi, woke up this Wednesday shrouded in a thick layer of air pollution that limited visibility and made it the most polluted city in the world, surpassing Lahore in Pakistan, according to data from the Swiss platform IQ Air.
According to IQ Air, at 10:45 AM, monitoring stations in New Delhi recorded an extremely high air quality index of 515 points, above the maximum limit of the standard measurement system. The concentration of PM2.5 particles, hazardous to health, was 333 micrograms per cubic meter.
In contrast, Lahore reported an air quality index of 432 points, also considered "dangerous". New Delhi, one of the most populous cities in the world with about thirty million inhabitants, was engulfed in smog due to the burning of agricultural waste, industrial emissions, and adverse weather conditions.
The situation has worsened in the last two weeks, coinciding with the celebrations of the Hindu festival Diwali, during which, despite the government ban, fireworks were used that significantly contributed to air pollution. In other Indian cities, such as Bombay, air quality is also concerning, although it does not reach the levels of New Delhi.