NEW DELHI, Nov 15 (TIWN): India’s capital city Delhi has emerged as world’s most polluted city and primary schools have declared to go online.

Read report here : Delhi has beat Pakistan’s Lahore by becoming the most polluted city.

Delhi overtook Pakistan’s Lahore as the world’s most polluted city in Swiss group IQAir’s live rankings, with an air quality index (AQI) score of more than 1,000, which is considered “hazardous”, but India’s pollution authority said the AQI was around 350, reported Independent.

Swiss-based monitoring organisation IQAir reported AQI levels in certain areas of Delhi as high as 1,133, designating the air as 'hazardous' with PM2.5 as the primary pollutant.

This is the first time this year the AQI reading for PM2.5 crossed the 1,000 mark in Delhi, leaving the city wreathed in a hazy grayish-yellow cover, the report further stated.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) indicated that AQI readings across numerous parts of Delhi surpassed 400, signalling critical pollution levels. The highest recordings included Anand Vihar at 473, Ashok Vihar at 474, Dwarka Sector 8 at 458, and Jahangirpuri at 471.Several areas reported similar readings -- Patparganj (472), Punjabi Bagh (459), RK Puram (454), Rohini (453), Major Dhyanchand Stadium (444), IGI Airport (435), ITO (434), Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (408), NSIT Dwarka (425), Okhla Phase 2 (440), Mundka (407), Najafgarh (457), Narela (438) and Sonia Vihar (468).While in a few locations of the national capital, including DTU (398), Mathura Road (395), Dilshad Garden (385), Lodhi Road (370), and Sri Aurobindo Marg (345), the AQI level remained at 'very poor' level.In the National Capital Region (NCR), other cities also faced elevated AQI levels, with Faridabad at 284, Gurugram at 309, Ghaziabad at 375, Greater Noida at 320, and Noida at 367.

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Thursday announced that primary schools in the national capital will switch to online classes amid worsening air quality in the city.“Due to rising pollution levels, all primary schools in Delhi will be shifting to online classes, until further directions,” the Chief Minister announced on X.