Photos show choking smog in New Delhi, where the air's so bad that flights had to be diverted and one politician said it's like a 'gas chamber'

James Pasley
Updated

Sakib Ali/Hindustan Times via Getty

  • In New Delhi, the Indian government declared a public health emergency as smog levels more than doubled a "severe-plus" level, based on an index that measures particles, fumes, and chemicals in the air.

  • Air pollution has become typical in India's winter, and this is the worst the city has seen in three years.

  • The smog comes from several factors — nearby farmers burning off "stubble" or old crops, emissions from the city's millions of vehicles, dust from construction, and firecrackers set off to celebrate the Diwali Festival.

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Vehicles ply on road amid heavy smog, at NH 9 road, on November 3, 2019 in Ghaziabad, India.
Vehicles ply on road amid heavy smog, at NH 9 road, on November 3, 2019 in Ghaziabad, India.

In New Delhi, 40 million people are choking on the worst smog in years.

Air pollution is so bad in India's capital that the Washington Post's India correspondent Niha Masih compared the "dystopian" site to Mordor, the fictional volcanic waste-land in "The Lord of the Rings."

The smog comes from nearby farmers burning off old crops called "stubble", emissions from the city's millions of vehicles, dust from construction, and firecrackers being used to celebrate the Diwali Festival.

The Indian government has responded by closing schools, handing out millions of masks, and instigating an odd-even rule for driving, but smog is still blanketing the city.

Here's what it looks like on the ground.

It's difficult to see through the thick haze that's choking New Delhi, a city of 20 million people. Unfortunately, it's become normal for the city's skyline to disappear during the winter, as the wind drops and the smog settles.

Manish Swarup / AP

Manish Swarup / AP

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Manish Swarup / AP

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Manish Swarup / AP

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