Women stroll along a road near India Gate as the sky is blanketed with smog following a deterioration in Delhi's air quality due to pollution, in New Delhi, India, on November 19, 2024. – Reuters

Residents in India's northern states awoke to another day of poor air quality on Tuesday, as a thick fog enveloped the region, and pollution levels in the capital, Delhi, remained critical. India faces severe air pollution every winter as cold, dense air traps dust, emissions, and smoke from illegal farm fires in the neighboring farming states of Punjab and Haryana.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) reached 491 in Delhi on Monday, prompting the government to impose restrictions on vehicle movement and construction activities, and schools to shift classes online. On Tuesday, Delhi's 24-hour AQI reading stood at 488 on a scale of 500, according to India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), with at least five stations in the capital reporting an AQI of 500. CPCB categorizes an AQI reading of 0-50 as 'good' and above 401 as 'severe', indicating a risk to healthy individuals and 'seriously impacting' those with pre-existing conditions.

Swiss group IQAir ranked New Delhi as the world's most polluted city with an air quality reading of 'hazardous' 489, a notable improvement from Monday's 1,081. Experts note that scores differ due to variations in the scales countries use to convert pollutant concentrations into AQI, resulting in different AQI scores for the same pollutant levels in different countries.

India's weather department reported that a shift in the fog layer towards the northern state of Uttar Pradesh had improved visibility over Delhi. Visibility plummeted to zero meters in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, located southeast of Delhi. The Taj Mahal, India's iconic monument of love, has been shrouded in toxic smog for nearly a week.

Strict measures to curb the high pollution levels have adversely affected production at over 3.4 million micro, small, and medium enterprises in the neighboring states of Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi, according to local media reports.

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