Los Angeles County in the US has been battling devastating wildfires for the past few days. Today, half of the city is on fire. The inferno has ripped through more than 19,000 acres of Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The death toll from the wildfires has continued to climb with at least 10 people known to have died and that toll may grow. However, astonishingly, even amidst the natural calamity, LA’s air remains significantly cleaner than that of Delhi. 

The AQI in the US city was recorded at 154 today, which is far better than the air quality in the Indian capital. Delhi’s air quality continued in the “very poor” category. According to IMD, the AQI was recorded at 372 in Delhi today. 

This stark contrast highlights a troubling reality for Delhi, where poor air has become a daily struggle. Noting the same, an X user shared a side-by-side comparison of AQI recorded in Delhi and LA on Friday. “Half of LA is on fire, but the air is still cleaner than Delhi’s,” the user wrote. 

Take a look below: 

Half of LA is on fire, but the air is still cleaner than Delhi’s https://t.co/hQrRvjZFXI pic.twitter.com/AdLVYRkK4u

— Abhinav Kukreja (@kukreja_abhinav) January 9, 2025

In the comments section, several users pointed out that the air quality in LA is even better than in Mumbai. Some of them explained the cause, noting that it is because of the wind velocity and direction of it. 

“Wind direction is the cause, people burn parali in Haryana and Punjab, and effect is seen in Delhi, same wind caused havoc by supporting its spread and also protected air quality!” explained one user. “While Delhi aqi is truly awful, I don’t think the comparison with a coastal city with heavy winds is very accurate,” commented another. 

The Air Quality Index, often referred to as AQI, is a federal measure of the amount of air pollution. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory,’ 101 and 200 ‘moderate,’ 201 and 300 ‘poor,’ 301 and 400 ‘very poor,’ and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. 

Also Read | Pics: Losses From Deadly Wildfires Across Los Angeles Likely To Hit $60 Billion

Meanwhile, five fires are still burning in LA. A Los Angeles County fire official said an untold number of significant injuries were linked to two of the fires, and a city official in Los Angeles described Tuesday night as “one of the most devastating and terrifying” that she had seen in her corner of the city.

Nearly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders due to the wildfires. Another 200,000 residents are under evacuation warnings. 

Thousands of structures, which include homes, commercial buildings and vehicles, have been damaged or destroyed. The insured losses from this week’s fires may exceed $20 billion, and total economic losses could reach $50 billion, according to estimates published by JPMorgan on Thursday.

Los Angeles:

Rampaging wildfires around Los Angeles have killed at least two people and caused a “significant number” of serious injuries, officials tackling the terrifying blazes said Wednesday.

More than 1,000 buildings have burned in multiple wildfires that have erupted around America’s second biggest city, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.

Hurricane-force winds have whipped up fireballs that have leapt from home to home in the upmarket Pacific Palisades area, torching a swathe of California’s most desirable real estate.

“We have well over 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) that have burned, and the fire is growing,” Los Angeles Fire Chief Anthony Marrone told reporters.

“We have no percentage of containment. We have an estimated 1,000 structures destroyed… and a high number of significant injuries to residents who did not evacuate.”

A second major fire was burning around Altadena, north of the city, where footage showed flames consuming whole streets.

“We have over 2,000 acres burning at this time, and the fire continues to grow with zero percent containment,” Marrone said.

“We have over 500 personnel assigned, and unfortunately, we have two reported fatalities to civilians, unknown cause at this time. And we do have a number of significant injuries. We have over 100 structures destroyed.”

Two other blazes in the area were also stretching resources.

Vicious gusts were pushing the flames, whipping red-hot embers hundreds of meters (yards), sparking new spot fires faster than firefighters could quell them.

As dawn broke, a vast pall of smoke was visible over Los Angeles, with the acrid tang of burning in the air.

City mayor Karen Bass warned that the “windstorm is expected to worsen through the morning” in a post on X early Wednesday.

Some firefighters were facing water shortages at hydrants in the Palisades, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Emmy-award-winning actor James Woods posted a video showing flames engulfing trees and bushes near his home as he evacuated, adding all the fire alarms were going off.

“I couldn’t believe our lovely little home in the hills held on this long. It feels like losing a loved one,” Woods said.

‘Ran to the car’

The first wildfire erupted on Tuesday morning and spread quickly, taking many residents by surprise.

Pacific Palisades resident Andrew Hires told AFP he got a text alerting him to the fire as his child was at the dentist about to have a tooth extracted.

“We pulled off the mask and ran to the car,” he said.

Trees and vegetation around the Getty Villa were burned, but the structure and collections were spared, the museum said.

The Getty, set up by US oil billionaire and collector J. Paul Getty and one of the world’s richest art museums, houses Greek and Roman antiquities in a replica Roman country home.

The fire came as the area was being hit by seasonal Santa Ana winds that forecasters said could develop into the worst windstorm in a decade, with gusts of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) an hour.

“This looks pretty concerning,” said meteorologist Daniel Swain.

Wildfires are part of life in the US West and play a vital role in nature.

But scientists say human-caused climate change is altering weather patterns.

Southern California had two decades of drought that were followed by two exceptionally wet years, which sparked furious vegetative growth — leaving the region packed with fuel and primed to burn.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)