Photos: India’s Polluted Skies

Amarjeet Kumar Singh / Anadolu / GettySilhouettes of people and monkeys make their way past India Gate amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi, India, on October 22, 2025. Thick smog blanketed the city, with Delhi’s air-quality index dropping to 345, placing it in the “very poor” category.Bhawika Chhabra / ReutersA farmer burns stubble in a field in the northern state of Punjab, India, on November 13, 2025.Vipin Kumar / Hindustan Times / GettySmog fills the air in the early hours of the morning at Shanti Path in New Delhi, on November 16, 2025. The national capital continues to reel under a dense blanket of smog, with air quality plunging to “severe” levels.Sonu Mehta / Hindustan Times / GettyAn anti-smog gun sprays water to settle down dust along Kartavya Path on November 8, 2025, in New Delhi.Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times / GettyA view of a morning haze due to rising air-pollution levels, seen in Noida, India, on November 15, 2025Bhawika Chhabra / ReutersBurning stubble sends smoke and other particulates into the air in Mansa, in the northern state of Punjab, on November 12, 2025.Anushree Fadnavis / ReutersA boy plays cricket near the banks of Yamuna river, on a smoggy morning in New Delhi on November 13, 2025.Ritesh Shukla / GettyA view of Akshardham Temple amid heavy pollution, seen in New Delhi on October 29, 2025.Manish Swarup / APA person holds a sign during a protest against what demonstrators called the government’s lack of action to combat air pollution in New Delhi, on November 9, 2025.Sakib Ali / Hindustan Times / GettyAir-quality levels in Ghaziabad, India, continued to remain in the “very poor” category on November 16, 2025.Deepak / ANI Photo / ReutersVehicles sit in traffic under a layer of smog in New Delhi on November 12, 2025.Himanshu Sharma / NurPhoto / GettySmog blankets Ajmer, Rajasthan, India, on November 7, 2025.Sanchit Khanna / Hindustan Times / GettyPeople travel on a smoggy day in Wazirabad, on October 18, 2025, in New Delhi.Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times / GettyA smoggy morning in Noida, seen on November 15, 2025Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times / GettyTall residential buildings, seen during a period of low visibility due to air pollution, on November 1, 2025, in NoidaAdnan Abidi TPX / Adnan Abidi / ReutersA flock of birds flies past a tree on a smoggy morning in New Delhi on November 10, 2025.