Choked morning in Delhi-NCR as air quality goes from bad to worse

Delhi was "gasping for breath" on Monday when air pollution dipped to "very poor", prompting residents to tweet that it's time to flee the city. The air quality index (AQI) in the morning was recorded at 374, which falls in the 'very poor' category, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

In Delhi, the overall PM2.5 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres) was recorded at 264 against the safe limit of 60. The PM2.5 also called "fine particulates," can be a matter of more serious health concern than PM10.