Among the many Indian cities gasping for breath, New Delhi tops the list every year.
NEW DELHI — Sky obscured by thick, gray smog. Monuments and high-rise buildings swallowed by a blanket of haze. People struggling to breathe. In New Delhi, it is that time of the year again.
The city’s air quality index fell into the very poor category on Sunday, according to SAFAR, India’s main environmental monitoring agency, and in many areas levels of the deadly particulate matter reached around six times the global safety threshold, reports AP.
Nasa satellite imagery also showed most of India’s northern plains covered by thick haze, says the report.
Among the many Indian cities gasping for breath, New Delhi tops the list every year. The crisis deepens particularly in the winter when the burning of crop residues in neighbouring states coincides with cooler temperatures that trap deadly smoke. That smoke travels to New Delhi, leading to a surge in pollution in the city of more than 20 million people and exacerbating what is already a public health crisis.