In pictures: India's heavy smog

The severity of the pollution since Oct 28, 2019, forced the Delhi state government to declare a rare public health emergency on Friday (Nov 1), a day recorded as the most polluted in around two years with an average air quality index (AQI) of 484. It ordered all schools in Delhi to be shut until Tuesday (Nov 5) and began distributing five million face masks to schoolchildren in the city.

Updated

Published

November 4, 2019 at 11:03 AM

Hindu devotees leave after worshipping the Sun god during the Hindu religious festival of Chhath Puja on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, on Nov 3, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

A demonstrator wearing a face mask due to heavy smog conditions takes part in a demonstration demanding the government to implement measures to curb air pollution in New Delhi, on Nov 3, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

Demonstrators wearing face masks due to heavy smog conditions take part in a demonstration demanding the government to implement measures to curb air pollution in New Delhi, on Nov 3, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

Indian police personnel wearing face masks stand guard amid heavy smog conditions near a demonstration against air pollution in New Delhi, on Nov 3, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

A man removes a hoarding from a lamp post in a flyover amid heavy smog conditions, in New Delhi, on Nov 3, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

Tourists visit the India Gate under heavy smog conditions in New Delhi, on Nov 3, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

An Indian farmer burns crop stubble in a farm at a village on the outskirts of Amritsar, India, on Nov 2, 2019. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

Indian school students wearing masks pose for a photograph after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal distributed masks in a government school in New Delhi, India, on Nov 1, 2019. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

Men walk under heavy smog conditions along the Sangam, the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganges River, in Allahabad, on Oct 31, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

Commuters drive under heavy smog conditions along the Delhi-Meerut expressway near Akshardham temple, in New Delhi, on Oct 31, 2019. PHOTO: AFP

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