Delhi`s air quality slipped back to the `severe` category on Saturday morning with an AQI of 420 while the minimum temperature was recorded at 11.4 degrees Celsius. Out of 38 monitoring stations, nine recorded air quality in the `severe plus` category with AQI exceeding 450.

At 6 am on Saturday, the CPCB recorded Delhi’s AQI at 419, which placed it back in the ‘severe’ category.

Whatever the causes of the smog, by one ranking Delhi was not just the most polluted city in the world, but “nearly five times as bad as the second most polluted city, Dhaka,” in Bangladesh next door, as Shashi Tharoor, a leader of the opposition in Parliament and best-selling author, posted on X.

India's capital city of Delhi has virtually shut down as air pollution hit "severe plus" levels, according to Indian government officials in its pollution control authority.

In several areas of the city, pollution levels were more than 50 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limit. Forecasts say the poor air quality will continue into the week.

India said on Sunday that it would tighten restrictions including on construction activities and vehicle movements in New Delhi and surrounding areas from Monday to combat worsening air quality. The new measures,

Delhi faced a severe environmental crisis as the AQI hit hazardous levels in multiple areas. In response, the Delhi Police enforced vehicle checks and a ban on older diesel vehicles to combat air pollution,

As air quality index levels reach alarming figures, concerns continue to grow about the impact of pollution on public health and safety.