New Delhi blanketed by toxic haze, world’s most polluted city again

NEW DELHI, Nov 03 (Reuters): India's capital New Delhi was wrapped in a thick layer of toxic haze on Friday and some schools were ordered closed as the air quality index (AQI) plummeted to the "severe" category.
New Delhi again topped a real-time list of the world's most polluted cities compiled by Swiss group IQAir, which put the Indian capital's AQI at 640 in the "hazardous" category on Friday, followed by 335 in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
Regional officials said a seasonal combination of lower temperatures, a lack of wind and crop stubble burning in neighbouring farm states had caused a spike in air pollutants.
Many of New Delhi's 20 million residents complained of irritation in the eyes and itchy throats with the air turning a dense grey as the AQI hovered around 480 in some monitoring stations.
An AQI of 0-50 is considered good while anything between 400-500 affects healthy people and is a danger to those with existing diseases.
"In my last 24 hours duty, I saw babies coughing, children coming with distress and rapid breathing," Aheed Khan, a Delhi-based doctor, said on social media platform X.
There were fewer people in the city's parks such as Lodhi Garden and India Gate, popular with joggers.
Residents snapped up air purifiers. One service centre for the appliances said there was a shortage of new filters and fresh stocks were expected on Monday.
In India, the annual average concentration of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the air is the highest in northern regions.
Officials said they saw no immediate improvement in the air quality.
"This pollution level is here to stay for the next two to three weeks, aggravated by incidents of stubble burning, slow wind speed and cooling temperatures," said Ashwani Kumar, chairman of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
Farmers in the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh typically burn crop waste after harvesting in October to clear their fields before sowing winter crops a few weeks later.
This year, attention on the worsening air quality has cast a shadow over the cricket World Cup hosted by India, with financial capital Mumbai also suffering from a spike in pollution levels.
Delhi hosts a World Cup match on Monday between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, schools were shut across India's capital on Friday as a noxious grey smog engulfed the megacity and made life a misery for its 30 million inhabitants.
Smoke from farmers burning crop stubble, vehicle exhaust and factory emissions combine every winter to blanket the capital in a deadly haze.
On Friday, levels of the most dangerous PM2.5 particles-so tiny they can enter the bloodstream-were almost 35 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization, according to monitoring firm IQAir.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced late Thursday that all primary schools would be closed across the capital for at least two days.