India’s largest “rubbish mountain” is on course to grow taller than the Taj Mahal in 2020.

The Ghazipur landfill already takes up more than 40 football pitches of land on the eastern edge of New Delhi, which is widely considered to be the world’s most polluted capital.

The vast dump of rubbish rises by 10m every year. It is already 65m high and will be taller than the 73m Taj Mahal next year, according to the report by AFP.

This putrid landmark is now so vast India’s Supreme Court has warned red lights will have to be put on the top to warn aircraft.

Chitra Mukherjee, head of Chintan, an environment advocacy group said: “It all needs to be stopped as the continuous dumping has severely polluted the air and ground water.”

New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Show all 14 1 /14 New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels India's Rashtrapati Bhawan is partly visible due to smog as traffic plies on Rajapth. Smog levels spike during winter in Delhi, when air quality often eclipses the World Health Organization's safe levels AP New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Cooler air traps pollutants -- such as from vehicles, building sites and farmers burning crops in regions outside the Indian capital -- close to the ground AP New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels A man wearing a protective mask walks amidst smog in the early morning in New Delhi Reuters New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Indian people receive treatment for respiratory problems at a hospital in New Delhi AFP/Getty New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Buildings shrouded in smog Reuters New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels A combination of pictures showing people wearing face masks to protect themselves against air pollution AFP/Getty New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Indian workers are seen in the morning smog as they clean a lane littered with remains of firecrackers AP New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Smog envelopes the horizon in New Delhi AP New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Motorists on a busy road amid heavy smog AFP/Getty New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels A man cycles past a government building amid heavy smog AFP/Getty New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels Commuters are seen amid heavy smog in New Delhi AFP/Getty New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels An Indian shepherd walks along his herd of sheep amidst heavy smog AFP/Getty New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels A train moves through heavy smog EPA New Delhi toxic smog pushes air pollution to peak levels A pedestrian crosses a road near the Indian President's house AFP/Getty

The tip was opened in 1894, reached capacity in 2002 and has been growing ever since.

With a rapidly growing population and increasing consumption this is only set to continue. Indian cities generate 62 million tons of waste each year and current projections say this will increase to 165 million by 2030.

Birds of prey, stray dogs, rats and more than 1,000 waste-pickers – many of whom are children – comb through the 2,000 tons of garbage that is dumped at the landfill daily.

The rubbish dump is already 65m high and will be taller than the 73m Taj Mahal next year

Life on Ghazipur landfill is extremely dangerous.

Fires that can last for days regularly break out due to methane gas being belched out from the dump. In 2018 part of the mountain collapsed, killing two people.

People living nearby say the air is so toxic they can hardly breathe and many have complained of acute respiratory and stomach problems.

In January, Delhi air pollution surged to emergency levels. The state-run Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index found the concentration of poisonous particulates in the air was 12 times higher than the US recommended level.

India actually has a low per-capita plastic consumption of just 11kg compared to western countries where up to 10 times that is consumed each year, but disposal remains a massive problem.

Earlier this year India banned imports of waste plastic in a bid to close the gap between waste generation and recycling capacity.