New Delhi is (again) the most polluted city in the world

A layer of toxic air covered the streets of New Delhi on Monday morning and transformed the Indian capital into the most polluted city in the world, after a deterioration in air quality that ended with a series of several days of slight improvements . The air quality index (AQI) in New Delhi rose to 355 as of 10am local time (3.30am GMT), according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), falling into the “very poor” category ” and poses risks to the entire population, according to the organization.

This level places the Indian capital as the most polluted city in the world, according to data collected by the Swiss platform specialized in measuring air quality, IQAir. IQAir recorded a concentration of PM 2.5 particles in New Delhi, the most harmful to health, equal to 289 micrograms per cubic meter of air, a value almost twenty times higher than the maximum level recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) . The WHO considers daily exposure above 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air to be dangerous.