'Severe' toxic smog blankets Delhi, shuttering schools

LONDON -- Residents of Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog, prompting the city to cancel in-person classes, halt construction and limit traffic, as the Indian capital city's air-pollution levels surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

Government officials warned the 33 million residents of Delhi to stay inside and use air purifiers as the smog increased in severity. The city implemented GRAP 4, the highest stage of pollution-related emergency measures, which kick into effect during "severe" air pollution.

GRAP 4 forbids trucks -- except those carrying essential goods -- from entering the city and bans construction and demolition projects. The government may also consider programs where only vehicles with license plates ending in odd or even numbers may drive on a given day.

Last week, Delhi's environment minister announced the addition of over 100 more buses to the city's fleet in response to the worsening pollution. The Delhi metro also announced it will run 60 extra trips as the city tries to minimize the number of cars on the road.

Most students will attend remote classes, and only half of employees will go into offices. Children and those with respiratory illnesses were advised to minimize any time outdoors.

Delhi's air-quality index, or AQI, shot up past 1,000 on Monday, more than five times higher than Sarajevo, the second most-polluted major city, according to the Swiss air monitoring company IQAir.

The WHO estimates that air pollution kills 7 million people annually. IQAir has consistently ranked Delhi amongst the world's most-polluted cities.

Toxic smog in the region gets worse every year as winter sets in and smog from crop-burning, brick kilns and heavy traffic settles for extended periods due to the cold, dense air.

Atishi Marlena Singh, the chief minister of Delhi, blamed the deadly pollution on the national government's insufficient measures.

"The Central Government is sitting idle. Today, all of north India has been pushed into a medical emergency," she said at a press conference.

Forecasts predict the air pollution will continue throughout this week.