Toxic smog blankets New Delhi, disrupting travel and plunging air
quality to hazardous levels
[December 16, 2025]
By RAJESH ROY and SIBI ARASU
NEW DELHI (AP) — Dense toxic smog blanketed India’s capital on Monday,
pushing air pollution levels to their worst levels in weeks, disrupting
travel and causing authorities to impose the strictest containment
measures.
More than 40 flights were cancelled and several dozens delayed. Over 50
trains arriving and departing from New Delhi were delayed by several
hours, authorities said.
Healthcare experts warned residents to avoid all outdoor activities as
hospitals reported an influx of patients with breathing difficulties and
eye irritation.
“New Delhi is a gas chamber right now. Air purifiers can help only a
bit, so it's high time the government comes up with some permanent
solutions” said Naresh Dang, a physician at Max Healthcare.
Delhi’s air pollution levels have remained at what the federal
government calls a “severe” level for the last two days, which the
government says can cause respiratory effects to healthy people and
seriously affect the health of people with heart or lung disease.
On Sunday, official index readings were over 450 at several monitoring
stations, up from 430 on Saturday and the highest so far this winter
season, as per data from Central Pollution Control Board. On Monday, it
stood at 449.
Readings below 50 are considered good. During periods of severe air
pollution, the government advises people to avoid going outdoors as much
as possible and wear N95 masks when going outside. Children, pregnant
women, elderly and people with pre-existing respiratory or
cardiovascular conditions are at higher risk and officials advise them
to be extra cautious.
“I have never seen this kind of pollution ever. Last year I came to
Delhi, it was polluted. This year it is more polluted. I can feel the
smoke while I breathe the air,” said Tiam Patel, a tourist.
To stem pollution, Indian authorities have banned construction
activities and restricted use of diesel generators and cars. Water
sprinklers have been deployed to control the haze. Schools and offices
are allowing many students and workers to stay home.
But environmentalists say that the country's air pollution crisis
requires long-term changes.
New Delhi and its surrounding region, home to more than 30 million
people, routinely rank among the world’s most polluted. India has six of
the world's 10 most polluted cities, and New Delhi is the most polluted
national capital, according to a report from Switzerland-based air
quality monitoring database IQAir earlier this year.
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People walk in a smog-covered morning in New Delhi, India, Monday,
Dec. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Piyush Nagpal)
Air quality worsens in New Delhi every winter as farmers burn crop
residue in nearby states and cooler temperatures trap the smoke,
which mixes with pollution from vehicles, construction activity and
industrial emissions. Pollution levels often reach 20 times higher
than the World Health Organization’s safe limit.
But Vimlendu Jha, a Delhi based environmentalist, said that the air
is not healthy even at other times of year.
“Delhi’s air doesn’t get cleaner at all, we only see it visibly from
October to December, but the reality is that it remains polluted
through the year,” he said.
Earlier this month, residents of New Delhi staged protests to
express frustration and anger about the government's failure to
address pollution.
A study last year by medical journal Lancet linked long term
exposure to polluted air to 1.5 million additional deaths every year
in India.
“Deaths related to air pollution are not being counted. And the
reason why its not being counted is because there are no systematic
mechanisms to do so,” said Shweta Narayan, a campaign lead at the
Global Climate and Health Alliance.
Indian authorities in October carried out a controversial
cloud-seeding experiment over smog-choked New Delhi to induce
rainfall and clear the city’s toxic air. The experiment ended
without rainfall.
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Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India. AP video journalist Piyush
Nagpal contributed to the report.
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