8 November 2012 Last updated at 06:00

In pictures: Delhi smog

Traffic moves in front of the landmark India Gate monument enveloped by a blanket of smog, caused by a mixture of pollution and fog, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012.

For days the Indian capital, Delhi, has been shrouded in a blanket of smog that has put the city's dreaded pollution problems back in the news.

The morning sun is enveloped by a blanket of smog, caused by a mixture of pollution and fog in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

Winter smogs are common in Delhi, but this year's haze has been severe. The morning sun is enveloped by a blanket of smog, caused by a mixture of pollution and fog.

An Indian man walks his horse past men burning garbage in a poor neighbourhood of New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012

Farmers who burn straw in neighbouring states are being blamed by officials for causing heavy smog.

In this photograph taken on November 6, 2012 Indian office-goers make their way through the early-morning haze.

Environmental groups maintain road pollution is the main cause. They blame the huge rise in the number of vehicles in the city, particularly ones running on diesel.

Boys play soccer at a park enveloped by a blanket of smog, caused by a mixture of pollution and fog, in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012

Officials say slow wind speeds, low temperatures and high humidity are exacerbating the smog.

An Indian man carries clothes to dry as the morning sun is enveloped by a blanket of smog, caused by a mixture of pollution and fog in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

The Delhi government said it was concerned over the "unprecedented smog cover".

Police had been asked to launch a special drive for checking pollution from vehicles entering the capital.

Indian boys sit around a small fire as the morning sun is enveloped by a blanket of smog, caused by a mixture of pollution and fog in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012

Environmental groups have warned that the "high and extreme toxic" pollution levels in Delhi are a "clear health hazard" and that there is already evidence of residents suffering from severe respiratory ailments.

Indian men walk on a water pipe next to a sewage canal under an expressway during a hazy morning in New Delhi,

They say Delhi has exhausted all soft options to tackle pollution, and that the city needs emergency-level action to reduce the growing pollution in its air.

India

In pictures: Delhi smog

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