Primary schools in Dehli close due to smog
- Published
Primary school pupils in the Indian capital of Delhi will be having online lessons for a while due to unsafe pollution levels in the air.
Nearby cities are also experiencing pollution levels that are deemed hazardous to people's health.
On Thursday, the smog was so thick, it covered the country's popular tourist destination, the Taj Mahal.
The northern parts of the country face these dangerous conditions during the winter months due to a combination of factors including lower temperatures, smoke, dust, low wind speeds, vehicle emissions and crop burning, which is a way to clear agricultural land ready for new crops.
The Air Quality Index, which measures pollution levels in the air, said Delhi's air was more than 50 times the World Health Organisation's safe limit on Wednesday.
This is because fine dust and smoke particles can cause breathing problems and respiratory illness and diseases.
The government in the area has also banned all non-essential building work and asked people to only use public transport to try and reduce the amount of cars on the road.
Authorities say the air is expected to improve over the next few days but still remain unsafe.
They have also been spraying roads with special water which is designed to dampen down the dust to stop it from going into the air.