Delhi's air quality slightly improved to 'very poor' on Tuesday morning, with an AQI of 382, after experiencing 'severe' levels the previous week. Schools are instructed to operate in a hybrid mode (online and offline) for all classes until further notice,

After a slight improvement on Monday morning, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) fell to the 'very poor' category by evening because of sluggish winds, remaining at the same level on Tuesday morning, with AQI readings between 300 and 440 at most monitoring stations.

The AQI in Delhi has reached 394, placing it in the very poor category. Contributing factors include stagnant winds and low temperatures, leading to a hazardous air quality level that has prompted stricter pollution control measures.

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.

The air quality of Delhi’s areas like Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, and Wazirpur among others saw slight improvement on Monday, however, it again plummeted to the ‘severe’ category.

Unhealthy

Pollution levels in Chandigarh - India's first planned city, located about 240km (150 miles) from capital Delhi - have been at more than 15 times the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for more than a month.

Strong surface winds (at speeds of 15km/hr) that had helped disperse pollutants on Sunday, dropped to near-calm levels of 4-6km/hr by Monday morning, leading to a haze engulfing the city again. Delhi’s 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) was recorded at 285 (“poor”) at 9am on Monday,