Delhi suffers second smog crisis in 12 months, wake-up calls go unheeded

A series of NASA satellite images clearly shows the pollution plume moving across the landscape

A year ago Delhi was choking, as smog in the Indian capital soared to 16 times the government’s safe limit for particulate pollution. Now the same thing has happened again.

Levels of the most dangerous particles, called PM2.5, have once again reached last November’s levels: more than 700 micrograms per cubic metre in some parts of the city. Experts say that prolonged exposure to this level of pollution is equivalent to smoking more than two packs of cigarettes a day.

Just 12 months after the record-breaking pollution that should have been a major