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.

India's capital was left gasping this week as air pollution smog reduced visibility to near zero and raised air quality levels more than 130 times safe limits.

Delhi's new action plan to combat rising pollution includes a ban on non-essential trucks, school closures, and remote work.