New Delhi faces severe toxic smog as winter approaches

New Delhi is experiencing severe toxic smog as winter approaches, with air quality reaching "severe" levels in some areas. The air quality index recorded a score of 384, indicating very poor conditions, and is expected to remain high until Thursday. Pollution sources include vehicle emissions, construction dust, and smoke from farm fires in nearby Punjab and Haryana. Farm fires contributed over 23% to the pollution on Monday, up from 15% on Saturday. About a third of New Delhi's monitoring stations reported severe air quality scores above 400. The city was ranked the second most polluted in the world, following Lahore, Pakistan, which is also facing significant pollution challenges.