The Air Quality Index (AQI) in New Delhi climbed to the “dangerous” level on Sunday, a value of 431 on a scale of 500, while a layer of haze lies over the Indian capital.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the low wind speeds and excessively high humidity also provide favorable conditions for rising levels of pollution.

The entry of trucks into the state capital has been banned for more than a month in order to improve air quality, but the metropolises of 20 million people continue to choke high levels of pollution.

Last month, educational institutions closed their ports for 10 days due to very high air pollution as courses were offered online.

Every winter clouds of smoke from the incineration of crop residues from neighboring states of Delhi penetrate the capital. Add to this asphyxiating emissions from road traffic, high industrial emissions and the increase in the production of poorly or untreated waste.

According to the scientific journal The Lancet, nearly 17,500 people died of air pollution-related diseases in 2020 in the megalopolis of more than 20 million people.

According to a report by the Swiss organization IQAir, the Indian capital was the most polluted in the world for the sixth time in a row in 2020.