Delhi smog exceeds 60 times WHO limit

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants that cause cancer peaks at 907 micrograms per cubic metre

NEW DELHI:

India's capital switched schools to online classes Monday until further notice as worsening toxic smog surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

Levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- dangerous cancer-causing microparticles that enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- peaked at 907 micrograms per cubic metre on Monday morning, according to IQAir pollution monitors, with a reading above 15 in a 24-hour period considered unhealthy by the WHO.

Individual monitoring stations noted even higher levels -- one recorded PM2.5 pollutants at 980, 65 times the WHO maximum.

Dense grey and acrid smog smothered the city, with IQAir listing conditions as "hazardous"