India's government banned non-essential construction in New Delhi, the world's most polluted capital, and urged residents to avoid burning coal for heating, to combat worsening air quality that has disrupted flights and obscured the Taj Mahal.

Toxic smog shrouded India's iconic Taj Mahal in Agra on Thursday (November 14), rendering it barely visible from the surrounding gardens of the 17th-century monument. The dense haze also enveloped the Golden Temple,

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, becoming too thick to see through in several places.

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 ..

Toxic smog obscured India's famed monument to love, the Taj Mahal, as well as Sikhism's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, becoming too

Pakistan's Lahore remained the world's most polluted city, while visibility in parts of northern India fell to zero. Seasonal crop burning, low winds, and dropping temperatures contribute to toxic smog in these regions.

A dense smog blanketed the Taj Mahal in Agra on Thursday as pollution levels surged, obscuring the iconic monument from view. Tourists captured visuals showing the Taj Mahal nearly invisible behind the haze.