Toward the end of autumn, parts of northern India and Pakistan are frequently covered by a thick smog caused by a temperature inversion that traps smoke from burning crops, dust, and emissions from factories and vehicles—intensifying some of the worst air pollution in the world. This year the air quality has been particularly poor, causing flights to be cancelled, schools to be closed, and medical authorities to describe the situation as a public health emergency in recent weeks. Below, a few images of people navigating the smog in New Delhi and in Lahore, Pakistan.
Delhi's Toxic Sky
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Read moreA woman drives a scooter to drop off a child at school in Greater Noida, near New Delhi, India, on November 9, 2017. A thick gray haze has enveloped India's capital region as air pollution hits hazardous levels. #
R S Iyer / AP -
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Read moreIndian visitors walk through the courtyard of Jama Masjid amid heavy smog in the old quarters of New Delhi on November 8, 2017. #
Sajjad Hussain / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreIndian motorists ride through a thick blanket of smog and dust on the outskirts of New Delhi on November 10, 2017. #
Altaf Qadri / AP -
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Read moreThe morning sun is enveloped by a blanket of smog on the outskirts of New Delhi on November 10, 2017. #
Altaf Qadri / AP -
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Read moreLooking down from the 10th floor of a building, the ground is completely invisible due to smog in New Delhi on November 8, 2017. #
Altaf Qadri / AP -
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Read moreAn Indian policeman wearing a mask works near India Gate amid heavy smog in New Delhi on November 9, 2017. #
Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA Pakistani vendor carries balloons on a street amid heavy smog in Lahore on November 9, 2017. #
Arif Ali / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA cyclist pedals through the morning smog in New Delhi on October 20, 2017. #
Manish Swarup / AP -
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Read moreA vendor sells fruits in Lahore, Pakistan, on November 10, 2017. Smog has enveloped much of Pakistan, causing highway accidents and respiratory problems, and forcing many residents to stay home, officials said. #
K.M. Chaudary / AP -
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Read moreA street cleaner works in heavy smog in Delhi on November 10, 2017. #
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters -
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Read morePigeons fly above a road on a smoggy day in Lahore, Pakistan, on November 12, 2017. #
K.M. Chaudary / AP -
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Read moreVehicles drive through heavy smog in Delhi, India, on November 8, 2017. #
Cathal McNaughton / Reuters -
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Read moreAn Indian schoolboy walks along a road amid heavy smog in the old quarters of New Delhi on November 8, 2017. Delhi shut all primary schools on November 8 as pollution levels hit nearly 30 times the World Health Organization safe level, prompting doctors in the Indian capital to warn of a public health emergency. #
Sajjad Hussain / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreResidential buildings are enveloped in a blanket of smog as a firecracker lights up on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, on November 11, 2017. #
Altaf Qadri / AP -
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Read moreA woman with her face covered with a scarf and a face mask on a smoggy day in New Delhi on November 13, 2017. #
Saumya Khandelwal / Reuters -
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Read moreA train leaves a railway station amid heavy smog in Lahore on November 12, 2017. #
Arif Ali / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreTwo men walk past a cow surrounded by morning smog on the outskirts of New Delhi on November 9, 2017. #
R S Iyer / AP -
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Read moreChildren ride swings in a playground surrounded by smog in Lahore, Pakistan, on November 11, 2017. #
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Read moreA firefighter sprays water onto trees to fight the air pollution by washing accumulated dust down, in Delhi, on November 14, 2017. #
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Read moreMonks wear protective masks amid heavy smog on a street in New Delhi on November 9, 2017. #
Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreA horse cart and vehicles travel on a road while smog envelops the area in Lahore, Pakistan, on November 6, 2017. #
K.M. Chaudary / AP -
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Read moreIndian men play cricket amid heavy smog in New Delhi on October 20, 2017. #
Dominique Faget / AFP / Getty -
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Read moreNikunj Pandey, left, sits with his friends wearing pollution masks in New Delhi on November 9, 2017. #
Manish Swarup / AP -
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Read moreSchool children dressed in tiger and lion costumes march to express their distress over the alarming levels of pollution in New Delhi on November 15, 2017. The air was the worst it had been all year in New Delhi. Microscopic particles, which have spiked to 75 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization, can affect breathing and health. #
Manish Swarup / AP
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