India, Oct. 22 -- Delhi-NCR on Monday night was covered with a toxic haze after it spurned the Supreme Court set limit for bursting firecrackers. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in the Capital, as a result, exploded to the severe category - 10 times higher than the level deemed healthy by the World Health Organisation - making it the most polluted city in the world. Delhi recorded its worst air quality on Diwali in four years, with pollution levels spiking sharply at night.

Delhi's AQI stood at 359, in the 'very poor' category, at 11 am. It was 352 at 8 am, 346 at 5 am, 347 at 6 am and 451 at 7 am- as pollution levels worsened amid festive celebrations. Of the total 38 monitoring stations, 35 were in the 'red zone', indicating 'very poor' to...