At 6 am on Saturday, the CPCB recorded Delhi’s AQI at 419, which placed it back in the ‘severe’ category.

Unhealthy

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.

Authorities in India’s capital have shut schools, halted construction and banned non-essential trucks from entering the city after air pollution shot up to its worst level this season.

The Central Pollution Control Board has said the feasibility of cloud seeding as an emergency measure to battle winter pollution in northern India will be limited, citing insufficient moisture and reliance on pre-existing clouds,

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.