Air pollution reached the near-maximum level possible in Delhi on Friday as the national capital was blanketed by a thick layer of toxic haze, marking the start of the annual smog season, as per reports.Schools were closed and non-essential construction was banned as the air quality index in the city reached almost 500 -- 100 times the limit deemed to be healthy by the World Health Organisation.
Air quality in Delhi had worsened over the last week, attributed to a dramatic rise to stubble burning by farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana, as well as winds that brought the pollutants into the capital and a decrease in temperatures keeping the particles trapped. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced late Thursday that all primary schools would be closed across the capital for at least two days.Many of the capital's 33 million residents complained of irritation to eyes and itchy throats as the air turned a dense grey, Daily Mail reported. Doctors in the city said they had started to notice the damaging impact of pollution on the capital's residents.