Should Delhi even remain the nation’s capital? Tharoor responds to air crisis

New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday raised questions about Delhi remaining as the national capital amid reports of the city’s air quality index (AQI) plummeting to the "severe-plus", NDTV reported.

The toxic smog that spread over the city crossed 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

In the wake of hazardous situation, authorities urged both elderly and children to stay indoors alongside switching schools and most office works to online.

Responding to the situation, the Thiruvananthapuram MP took to platform X saying: "Delhi is officially the most polluted city in the world, 4x hazardous levels and nearly five times as bad as the second most polluted city, Dhaka. It is unconscionable that our government has been witnessing this nightmare for years and does nothing about it’.

Last year, Shashi Tharoor ‘gave up’ running an Air Quality Round Table began in 2015 for experts and stakeholders after "nothing seemed to change and no one seemed to care".

Tharoor added that the national capital is ‘essentially uninhabitable from November to January inclusive and barely livable the rest of the year. Should it even remain the nation's capital?’

Home to about 7 crore people, the national capital tops world ranking for pollution from thick smog of dust, emissions and smoke.

A major factor contributing to the situation is the illegal stubble burning in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana by farmers to clear their fields for ploughing.

The AQI nearly touched a shocking 500-mark as thick smog continued to over Delhi and its adjoining areas this morning.

At 6 am today, the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) was marked at 494, the worst this season, according to data from the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).

Meanwhile, the Centre's air quality panel, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), on Monday introduced stricter pollution control measures for the city.