Delhi recorded its worst post-Diwali air quality in the last four years on Tuesday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) plunging into the “severe” category. Major cities in Punjab and Haryana were also engulfed in haze.

According to data released by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on Tuesday evening, Delhi’s overall AQI stood at 351 and Gurugram’s at 370. At least 35 of 39 monitoring stations in the capital recorded readings in the “red zone”, which, according to the regulatory agency, can cause respiratory illness on prolonged exposure to pollutants.

The CPCB data showed that the overall level of PM2.5 in Delhi was 228 micrograms per cubic metre on Tuesday -- 15.1 times higher than the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) permissible limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre in 24 hou

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