Delhi air quality 'very poor'; schools, colleges shut till further notice

Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 379 --'very poor'-- at 8 am on Wednesday

Toxic air engulfed Delhi on Wednesday a day after schools and colleges in the national capital and cities nearby were shut indefinitely and construction work was banned.

Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was 379 --'very poor'-- at 8 am, according to the state-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR). Readings below 50 are considered safe, while anything above 300 is considered hazardous or 'severe'.

After Diwali on November 4, the national capital's AQI levels became worse after people violated a ban on bursting firecrackers while the pollution compounded due to an increase in stubble burning by farmers in