North Indian cities struggle as toxic air reaches dangerous levels
Dense fog and hazardous pollution levels force Delhi to limit vehicles and stop construction work. Air quality readings hit near-maximum levels while nearby states face similar conditions
North Indiaʼs air quality dropped to critical levels as thick fog mixed with pollution covers the region. Delhi residents face severe-poor conditions (with AQI hitting 488 on a 500-point scale) which made local government put strict rules in place
The winter season brings a mix of problems - cold air traps dust emissions and smoke from illegal farm-fires in Punjab and Haryana states. Local officials had to make quick decisions: limit cars on roads stop building work and switch schools to online classes
The citys pollution board data shows that at least 5 monitoring stations hit the maximum reading of 500; this means its dangerous for healthy people and really bad for those who already have health issues. Swiss air-tracking company IQAir put New Delhis numbers at 489 - making it worlds most-polluted city that day
The thick air-pollution spread to nearby places too. In Agra the visibility went down to zero (which means you cant see anything at all) and the world-famous Taj Mahal stayed hidden in toxic smog for about a week. These anti-pollution rules affected more than 3‚4 million small-to-medium size companies in the whole Delhi-Punjab-Haryana area
