Authorities in India’s capital have shut schools, halted construction and banned non-essential trucks from entering the city after air pollution shot up to its worst level this season.

Delhi recorded air pollution more than 17 times above an acceptable level as worsening smog triggered curbs on trucking and shuttered construction sites and schools.

India said on Sunday that it would tighten restrictions including on construction activities and vehicle movements in New Delhi and surrounding areas from Monday to combat worsening air quality. The new measures,

India is urging its neighbours, including Bangladesh and Pakistan, to take joint action against their shared problem of air pollution. The appeal, made at the Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan,

Delhi ’s government imposed the most stringent set of restrictions on the movement of vehicles and people as the toxic smog enveloping the Indian capital worsened on Monday. The city’s average air quality index was 457 in the morning,

The Indian capital closed all schools, banned lorries and halted construction work on Monday as air quality in New Delhi plummeted to its worst level this year, with a thick layer of yellowish haze engulfing the city of 22 million.

The Supreme Court agreed for an urgent hearing of a plea on Monday seeking directions to curb air pollution in the national capital and adjoining areas.