The crisis has forced authorities to impose strict containment measures, as the national capital of India routinely ranks among the most polluted in the world.
Pollution levels have reached a state that the federal government categorizes as "severe," with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 449 on Monday. Although official readings exceeded 450 points on Sunday, some monitoring stations recorded peaks of up to 721 points during the early hours of Monday. Values above 400 points are considered "severe" and are dangerous even for healthy individuals, as exposure to pollutant particles, such as PM2.5, exceeds the limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) by more than 20 times. Health experts have warned residents to avoid all outdoor activities, with Dr. Naresh Dang from Max Healthcare bluntly stating: "New Delhi is a gas chamber right now".
The health impact is severe: hospitals are reporting an increase in patients with respiratory difficulties and eye irritation. Between 2022 and 2024, public hospitals in the capital recorded over 200,000 cases of acute respiratory illnesses.
In response to the emergency, authorities activated Phase IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) against Pollution. This protocol prohibits all construction and demolition activities in the capital and its metropolitan region, restricts the use of diesel generators, limits the entry of highly polluting vehicles, and promotes telecommuting. Additionally, water sprinklers have been deployed to control the fog. Even the Supreme Court of India recommended holding hybrid format hearings due to deteriorating visibility.
Poor visibility has severely disrupted transportation: over 40 flights were canceled and dozens delayed, while more than 50 trains arriving and departing from New Delhi experienced several hours of delays.
Air quality worsens every winter when farmers burn crop residues in nearby states and cold temperatures trap the smoke. A study published in the medical journal Lancet last year linked prolonged exposure to polluted air with 1.5 million additional deaths annually in India. Earlier this month, residents marched to express their frustration over the lack of government action, and a controversial cloud-seeding experiment conducted in October to clean the air ended unsuccessfully.