Gyarah Murtis engulfed in smog post 'Diwali' celebrations,at Sardar Patel Marg in New Delhi. Delhi''s air quality turned 'severe' on Diwali with stubble burning accounting for 32 p...
PTI Photo/Kamal Singh
Metro train runs on its track amid low visibility due to smog, post 'Diwali' celebrations, in New Delhi. Delhi''s air quality turned 'severe' on Diwali with stubble burning account...
PTI Photo/Kamal Singh
Vehicles ply amid low visibility due to smog, post 'Diwali' celebrations, in New Delhi. Delhi''s air quality turned 'severe' on Diwali with stubble burning accounting for 32 percen...
PTI Photo/Kamal Singh
Children play football at Rajpath amid low visibility due to smog, post 'Diwali' celebrations, in New Delhi. Delhi''s air quality turned 'severe' on Diwali with stubble burning acc...
PTI Photo/Kamal Singh
A cyclist rides through smog post 'Diwali' celebrations, in New Delhi. Delhi''s air quality turned 'severe' on Diwali with stubble burning accounting for 32 percent of the city''s ...
PTI Photo/Kamal Singh
A layer of smog envelops the skyline as residential buildings are decorated with colorful lights during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India
AP Photo/Altaf Qadri
Vehicles ply amid low visibility due to smog during Diwali celebrations, in New Delhi.
PTI Photo/Kamal Singh
Vehicles ply amid low visibility due to smog during Diwali celebrations, in New Delhi.
PTI Photo/Kamal Singh
A pigeon perches on a structure as vehicles ply on a road amid low visibility due to heavy smog, in New Delhi.
PTI Photo/Atul Yadav
A view of huts near Yamuna Bank, during cold morning, amid hazy weather conditions, in New Delhi. Pollution level in the national capital has been recorded in 'unhealthy' category ...
PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist
A man, wearing a shawl, rides his scooter on a street, amid hazy weather conditions, in Ghaziabad. The national capital has recorded below night time temperature for the past few d...
PTI Photo/Arun Sharma
Vehicles ply amid hazy weather conditions, in New Delhi.
PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist
Smoke billows out of chimneys in an industrial area, on World Environment Day, in Mumbai.
PTI Photo/Kunal Patil
A farmer burns stubble in a paddy field ahead of the World Environment day, during the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, in Vijayawada.
PTI Photo
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary CK Mishra chairs a high-level meeting on air pollution, in New Delhi.
PIB/PTI Photo
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi displays a placard to protest against government inaction on growing pollution, on the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament, in New Delhi.
PTI Photo/Atul Yadav
Children wear masks and hold placards during a protest against the alarming levels of pollution in the city, near the India Gate monument in New Delhi.
AP Photo/Manish Swarup
A Civil Defence volunteer displays a placard asking people to obey the odd-even rule, at ITO in New Delhi.
PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist
An aerial view of the capital covered in smog, in New Delhi. Delhi was enveloped in a thick layer of smog on Sunday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 18.7 degrees Ce...
PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter which can penetrate deep into lungs, impairing their function, and even the bloodstream.
Shashi Tharoor said that air quality is not a class issue but a mass issue and politicians should not ignore it as the poor are the biggest victims of smog and air pollution.
The pollution levels in the National Capital Region have hit the uppermost limits of instruments that measure these levels. The situation in other cities and towns in the IGP may, in fact, be worst than Delhi.