DHAKA: India’s air monitoring centre denied on Wednesday that pollution in New Delhi was worse than in Beijing, following scrutiny of the Indian capital’s winter smog, which shrouds the city each year.

A report in the New York Times last week and fresh research by scientists at Yale University suggested Delhi`s air was more harmful than Beijing`s, where concerns about the health impact of pollution are growing.

‘I am amazed to read such reports because Delhi air quality, especially in winter, is very poor but certainly not as bad as in Beijing,’ Gufran Beig, from the state-run System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), told media, reports The Straits Times.

Yale’s Global Environment Performance Index, a study of 178 countries released earlier this month, showed Delhi had the highest concentration of harmful small particles less than 2.5 micro meters in diameter (PM 2.5) followed by Beijing.

BDST: 2004 HRS, JAN 29, 2014