Toxic smog blankets New Delhi, disrupting travel and plunging air quality to hazardous levels

Описание: (15 Dec 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Delhi - 15 December 2025
1. Wide of India Gate, an iconic war memorial located in central Delhi, partially visible through layer of polluted air, visitors in foreground
2. Mid of India Gate partially visible through polluted air
3. Mid of a couple walking through pollution, holding hands
4. Various of President’s Palace exterior, completely invisible, enveloped in polluted air
5. Mid of an eagle flying in polluted air
6. SOUNDBITE (English and Hindi) Tiam Patel, Student:
“It is very disturbing. Definitely, a citizen of India should not be breathing air like this. This is a direct health concern (Hindi), it is hazardous. So it is very sad to see that people don’t take this problem seriously. (Hindi)”
7. Mid of a truck moving on the road
8. Mid of people walking on the road
9. Mid of vehicular traffic on the street
10. Mid of people crossing a road, vehicles passing
11. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Milan Patel, Businessman:
“I feel a lot of problem in breathing this air. It is very polluted out here because of the pollution and fog. The pollution index is also very high.”
12. Mid of a crane working at a construction site, partially visible through pollution
13. Mid of a man sitting under a tree, partially visible
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gurugram - 15 December 2025
14. Mid of view outside an apartment window, zero visibility because of pollution
STORYLINE:
Dense toxic smog blanketed India’s national capital 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.

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.

The hazardous air quality has prompted the Commission for Air Quality Management, or CAQM, to invoke Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan, the strictest emergency measures to control pollution.

Under Stage IV, all construction and demolition activities are banned and truck movement restricted, with heavy vehicles allowed to operate only in case of essential purposes.

Authorities may also close non-essential businesses or enforce odd-even rules if pollution worsens.

In addition, schools are to operate in a hybrid mode not only for primary students but also higher classes.

While these measures are intended to provide immediate relief, environmentalists warn they are short-term fixes that cannot solve the city's chronic pollution crisis.

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.

Experts have called for an urgent need to devise a long-term policy, rather than depend on such measures annually to tackle the issue.


AP video by Piyush Nagpal

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