Children suffer as schools go online in polluted Delhi

Nearly two million students around New Delhi told to stay home after authorities once again ordered schools to shut because of worsening air pollution. Now a weary annual ritual, keeping children at home and moving lessons online for days at a time during the peak of the smog crisis in winter ostensibly helps protect the health of the city's youth.

The policy impacts both the education and the broader well-being of schoolkids around the city -- much more so for children from poorer families. Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area, home to more than 30 million people, consistently tops world rankings for air pollution.