Delhi continues to wheeze under thick blanket of smog

The Particulate Matter (PM) were reportedly the highest in the last three years

Delhi continues to wheeze as a thick blanket of toxic smog continued to grip the national capital and nearby cities for the second day today.

The city's overall air quality continued to be in the 'severe' category on Saturday, with an overall air quality index (AQI) standing at 533, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

The Particulate Matter (PM) was reportedly the highest in the last three years.

"Relief is expected only from the evening of November 7 but AQI will fluctuate within the Very Poor range," SAFAR said.

The AQI measures the concentration of poisonous particulate matter PM2.5, which can cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases such as lung cancer, in a cubic metre of air.

On social media, some residents complained about the hazardous conditions in Delhi, which has the worst air quality of all world capitals, with an annual spike often early in the winter.

"The pollution in Delhi makes it very difficult to live in this city. Or at least live here for too long," resident Pratyush Singh said on Twitter. "We're breathing smoke every day. Media will talk about it. Leaders will say they are fixing it. It'll go away and come back next year."

Toxic air kills more than a million people annually in India and takes an economic toll on the country's northern states and the capital of 20 million people.

The current pollution levels in Delhi were the result of fireworks on the night of Diwali on Thursday and from stubble burning in the surrounding farm belt, according to SAFAR.

Farmers in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana set alight the stubble left after harvesting at this time of the year to prepare their fields for the next crop.

The situation is expected to improve in Delhi from late Sunday onwards, but the AQI will remain in the "very poor" category, which can trigger respiratory illness on prolonged exposure, SAFAR said in a statement on its website.

(With Reuters inputs)

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