Walking in the Lodhi Gardens in central Delhi is always an experience. This winter, particularly, do look out for that misty haze of PM2.5 that envelops its beautiful tombs, dims visibility and adds mystery to those aged monuments.

Yes, it has all come down to PM2.5.

If you don’t know what it is, you are probably one of those lucky people who don’t live in Delhi, where this purely technical-sounding term is fast becoming a part of everyday conversation. The Dictionary Of Environment Microbiology defines PM2.5 as “designation by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for airborne particulate matter that is less than 2.5 micrometer in diameter; associated with industrial and residential combustion and vehicle exhaust; also termed fine particulate".

That Delhi is the world’s most polluted city, even more so than Beijing, was made clear in a study of 1,600 cities released by the World Health Organization last year.

This month, while delegates in Paris were seeking consensus on an action plan to put the brakes on climate change, Chennai faced its worst-ever flood and people in Beijing were being asked to stay indoors because of the bad air, the story in Delhi turned out to be even worse than we had thought. As these pictures, taken over the course of this week, show.

During one week recently, Delhi’s air pollution was one-and-a-half times worse than Beijing’s. This was the analysis of IndiaSpend, a data-driven website: “The average weekly PM2.5 concentration in Delhi’s air was 230.9 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³), giving it a ‘very poor’ rating of air quality under the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The rating could lead to ‘respiratory illness on prolonged exposure’… Beijing, by comparison, recorded a PM2.5 concentration of 139.7µg/m³ during the same period."

Meanwhile, the city’s chief minister continues to suffer from his infamous cough. Seated in the terrace garden of a five-star hotel on a recent evening during a book launch, Arvind Kejriwal blamed his cough on the Capital’s toxic air. He then went on to explain his government’s decision to introduce the odd and even registration number driving rule for vehicles in the new year.

The scheme is planned as a two-week test run. Later in the evening, as Kejriwal was asked one uncomfortable question after another about this anti-pollution move, the avenue near the hotel was hit by a traffic jam.

At that moment, Delhi felt like the Titanic that had already hit an iceberg.

View Full Image Nizamuddin Bridge engulfed in heavy smog at 5.30am. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

View Full Image Yoga enthusiasts at Rajpath in the wee hours. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

View Full Image The toxic fumes from vehicles take a toll on leaves too. This photograph was taken in Gurgaon. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

View Full Image A Delhi Police commando stationed at India Gate. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint

View Full Image This cyclist in Mayur Vihar tries to protect himself. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint

View Full Image Gurgaon’s well-known ‘ship building’ engulfed in smog. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

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