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


Vehicles drive past mist spraying system installed in-between roads to control air pollution in New Delhi, India, November 13, 2026. REUTERS/Bhawika Chhabra

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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