India’s Capital Hunkers Down for Annual Airpocalypse

In some cities, children look forward to snow days. In New Delhi, as temperatures cool around November trapping filthy air over the Indian capital, parents say their children eagerly await ‘pollution holidays.’

The city’s residents are used to a blanket of smog that blots out the sky and heralds the arrival of the Hindu festival of Diwali. Delhi recorded worse average air-quality readings in November 2019 than it has seen this month. But residents and visitors to the city are reeling more than usual this year after experiencing less intense air pollution during the pandemic era.