NEW DELHI, Nov 18, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Residents of India's capital New Delhi choked in a blanketing toxic smog Monday as worsening air pollution surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

The level of deadly PM2.5 pollutants -- fine particulate matter in the air that causes the most damage to health -- peaked at 907 on Monday morning, according to IQAir pollution monitors, with a reading above 15 in a 24-hour period considered unhealthy by the WHO.