Winter smog blankets South Asian capitals of Dhaka, New Delhi

A thick layer of toxic smog wreathed Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka on Wednesday as the air quality index plummeted into the “hazardous” category, while similar conditions prevailed in New Delhi, the capital of neighbouring India.

The air quality in Dhaka, one of the world’s most crowded cities with more than 20 million people, has deteriorated as large projects spring up and fossil…