India's capital shuts schools because of smog

Men play badminton at Lodhi Garden while the sky is enveloped with smog after Delhi's air quality turned "hazardous" due to alarming air pollution, in New Delhi on Nov 15, 2024. - Reuters

NEW DELHI: India's capital New Delhi switched schools to online classes Monday (Nov 18) until further notice because of worsening toxic smog, the latest bid to ease the sprawling megacity's health crisis.

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- dangerous cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- were recorded at 57 times above the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum on Sunday evening.