The Indian capital and adjoining regions were shrouded in a thick smog of toxic air for the third straight day on Sunday as farmers burnt crop stubble, adding to the pollution created by firecrackers on Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
Air quality index levels at most monitoring stations in and around Delhi and nearby cities were in the severe category, with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels hovering between 400 and 470, which is six to seven times the limit deemed safe by the World Health Organization (WHO).
People have been complaining of breathing problems and itchy eyes and at least three major hospitals reported an increase in the number of patients coming in with respiratory problems.
Bad air quality amid the pandemic compounded the problem, Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences director Randeep Guleria was quoted as saying by NDTV news channel.
"Covid affects lungs, air pollution causes inflammation and therefore lungs get doubly stressed out. This leads to more severe disease," Guleria said.
Delhi, with 25 million inhabitants, has been ranked among the world's most polluted cities in recent years.
The pollution spikes annually in November around Diwali because of fireworks, which are set off despite a ban, stubble burning and local climatic conditions.
The Delhi government has stopped work at more than 90 construction sites which were not following protocols and was using 114 tankers to spray water on roads to settle dust, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said.
Rai said there were 3,000 to 4,000 cases of stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana being reported daily since Diwali.
