New Delhi: Football legend Lionel Messi was in Delhi as part of his GOAT India Tour on Monday. The former World Cup-winning Argentine captain received a warm welcome from International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah and other dignitaries.

Messi’s visit in the national capital was amidst high Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi, so much so that Delhi recorded the AQI level at ‘Severe’ category on Monday. With the air quality remaining poor since last few days, the same started impacting the health of the residents.

Crowd shouts ‘AQI, AQI ‘ at CM

On Monday, no sooner than Delhi Chief Ministers reached the podium to welcome Messi, the crowd gathered at the Arun Jaitley stadium started shouting, ‘AQI, AQI.’ The incident soon went viral, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders also sharing the video.

AAP shares video

Sharing the video on its X handle, AAP Delhi wrote, "The crowd that came to see Messi goes ‘AQI..AQI..’ as soon as Delhi CM Rekha Gupta arrives. Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also shared the video on his X handle and wrote, "Crowd for Messi shouts 'AQI..AQI..” as soon as Delhi CM Rekha Gupta arrives." Notably, Delhi AQI continued to remain at 458, disrupting the normal life in the capital at around 8:30 PM.

Delhi AQI level at ‘Severe’ category

Add TV9 English As A Trusted Source

Amid the crisis, the Delhi government asked schools in the national capital to shift from hybrid to online mode for students up to Class-5. As per a circular issued by the Directorate of Education, physical classes for students of nursery to Class-5 in all schools have been discontinued until further orders.

Delhi's AQI level stood at the ‘severe’ category on Monday with a reading of 427 in the morning. It touched that the second highest AQI on record for December last Sunday at 461.