The air quality in the national capital Delhi deteriorated on Tuesday morning due to unfavorable meteorological conditions, with no immediate relief in sight. At 8 am, the capital's air quality index (AQI) stood at 363, categorized as 'very poor,' based on data from nine out of the 40 monitoring stations. The remaining stations did not generate enough data for indexing.

Despite recent rainfall, Delhi witnessed a spike in pollution levels on Monday, with a return of smoky haze after the Diwali night firecracker ban was disregarded. According to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company, Delhi claimed the unenviable title of the world's most polluted city on Monday, followed by Lahore and Karachi in Pakistan. Mumbai and Kolkata also featured among the top polluted cities globally, ranking fifth and sixth, respectively.