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 city of Delhi has virtually shut down as air pollution hit "severe plus" levels, according to Indian government officials in its pollution control authority.

Air pollution in India's capital Delhi has soared to extremely severe levels, choking residents and engulfing the city in thick smog. Monitors recorded pollution levels of 1,500 on the Air Quality Index (AQI) at 15:00 IST (09:30 BST),