Pollution monitors moved into the red zone in India’s capital where air turned to poison after fireworks marked Diwali.

Toxic fumes smothered Delhi over the weekend but its 20 million residents braced for the annual farm bonfires that will now pour smoke into cities across India’s crowded north.

New Delhi resembled a gas chamber after revellers used firecrackers with a vengeance.

Environment activist Tanushree Ganguly blamed the free-for-all on bad policing

The Hindu festival is now steeped in politics with some identifying firecrackers as a symbol of religious identity, said popular author Jyoti Pandey

But lawyer Malvika Trivedi argued a renewed crackdown on firecrackers would destroy the livelihood of three million Indians.

Millions choked less than a week after India listed its priorities at the COP-26 climate summit in Glasgow.