India’s government banned non-essential construction in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital, and urged residents to avoid burning coal for heating, to combat worsening air quality that has disrupted flights and obscured the Taj Mahal.

Air pollution choking New Delhi has ground outdoor work to a halt and disrupted air travel in the Indian capital.

By Sakshi Dayal NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Toxic smog obscured India's famed monument to love, the Taj Mahal, as well as Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and delayed flights on Thursday,

Air pollution in the Indian capital is more than 50 times what is considered safe by the World Health Organization.

India's capital New Delhi ordered all primary schools to cease in-person classes until further notice on Thursday night due to worsening smog in the sprawling megacity. "Due to rising pollution levels,