HomeWorldAsiaDelhi overtakes Lahore as world's most polluted city as air quality drops

Delhi overtakes Lahore as world’s most polluted city as air quality drops

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NEW DELHI, Nov ‌13 (Reuters) - India's capital Delhi overtook ​Lahore in Pakistan to become the world's most polluted city ⁠on Friday, with air quality reaching hazardous levels and visibility dropping as smog blanketed the ​city of 20 million people.

• Air quality index (AQI) in Delhi ‌was "hazardous" at 334, making it the most polluted global major city, according to Swiss group IQAir, which ⁠measures air quality levels based ⁠on the concentration of toxins

• An AQI reading up to 50 is considered good with little or no health risk

• India's official Central Pollution ‌Control Board pegged the AQI higher at 403 ⁠and rated it "severe"

• The Swiss ‌and Indian readings vary due ​to the different AQI scales and methodologies used to calculate and classify air pollution levels

• Cars ‌and motorcycles emerged from dense ​smog, which also ⁠appeared to obscure street lights on the ‌city's main roads, videos ⁠from news agency ANI showed

• Pollution is a seasonal problem in many parts of northern India and ​neighbouring Pakistan, as ‌the cold, heavy air of winter traps vehicle ⁠emissions, construction dust and ​smoke from agricultural burning

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee; ​Editing by Kate Mayberry)

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