To combat worsening air quality, India's government has banned non-essential construction and encouraged residents to avoid burning coal for heating.

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,

Northern India encountered the recurring annual pre-winter event of air emergency where the Air Quality Index (AQI) readings of main pollutant PM 2.5 breached the 400-mark of “very poor” and landed the air of Delhi, Punjab and other northern cities into the “hazardous” category.

Several parts of the national capital recorded 'very poor' air quality levels on Friday. At 9 am, CRRI Mathura Road recorded an AQI of 368, ITO 357, Burari Crossing 390 and Lodhi Road 318.

Every year, Delhi and northern states battle hazardous air during the winter months of October to January due to plummeting temperatures, smoke, dust, low wind speed, vehicular emissions and crop stubble burning. This time, experts say that the condition is likely to get worse in the coming days.