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Air pollution in India’s capital, New Delhi, soared to hazardous levels yesterday, enveloping the city in a gray smog. The worsened air quality is a regular occurrence at this time of year, but yesterday’s spike was also attributed to the celebration of the Hindu festival of Diwali on Monday, which includes exploding fireworks and firecrackers that fill the air with smoke and fine particles.

The problem is not limited to India, however. As Kanika Gupta wrote last December, both India and Pakistan grapple with the dense, toxic smog that engulfs the major cities of South Asia at this time every year. Last year, in fact, the gray haze “was so pervasive that it was even visible from outer space, unleashing a regional public health crisis.” And as Kanika explained, “tackling the problem will require regional cooperation between India and Pakistan, despite their ideological and political differences.”

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