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Lahore, Delhi Choke as Air Pollution Spikes in Parts of South Asia

Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Lahore, Delhi Choke as Air Pollution Spikes in Parts of South Asia

Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)

Air quality deteriorated sharply in parts of northern India and adjoining Pakistan on Tuesday, with the onset of pre-winter smog making Lahore the world's most polluted city and authorities in Delhi imposing curbs to fight the toxic haze over the capital.

Air pollution becomes a severe problem for the region around this time of the year when cold, dense air traps ‌emissions from vehicles, ‌construction sites and crop waste burning, pushing pollution levels ‌to ⁠the highest in ⁠the world and exposing residents to serious respiratory risks.

Early on Tuesday, the air quality index (AQI) in Lahore stood at 447, according to IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of toxins. An ⁠AQI reading of up to 50 is considered good ‌with little or no health risk.

Lahore's PM2.5 ‌concentration was 60 times higher than the World Health Organization's annual PM2.5 ‌exposure guideline. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or ‌less in diameter that can be carried into the lungs, risking deadly diseases and heart problems.

A significant drop in temperatures and sluggish winds have affected air quality in Lahore, authorities said.

Pakistan's government has intensified action against brick kilns ‌violating environmental regulations and continues to urge farmers not to burn crop residue after harvesting.

The AQI in ⁠Delhi was ⁠lower at 215, as per IQAir. India's Central Pollution Control Board rated the capital city's air quality "very poor" with a higher AQI reading of 332.

The Swiss and Indian readings vary due to the different AQI scales and methodologies used to calculate and classify air pollution levels.

Delhi's graded pollution control measures — including restrictions on polluting vehicles, construction activities, the use of coal and firewood in eateries, and boosting public transport services — took effect on Monday.

With Diwali over the weekend expected to add to the pollution, India's Supreme Court has allowed only low-polluting fireworks to be burst for three hours each on Saturday and Sunday.

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Varieties

After Months Lost at Sea on a Small Boat, 5 People Are Rescued in the Island Nation of Kiribati

North and South Tarawa are seen from the air in the central Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, May 23, 2013. Kiribati consists of a chain of 33 atolls and islands that stand just meters above sea level, spread over a huge expanse of otherwise empty ocean. (Reuters)
North and South Tarawa are seen from the air in the central Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, May 23, 2013. Kiribati consists of a chain of 33 atolls and islands that stand just meters above sea level, spread over a huge expanse of otherwise empty ocean. (Reuters)
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After Months Lost at Sea on a Small Boat, 5 People Are Rescued in the Island Nation of Kiribati

North and South Tarawa are seen from the air in the central Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, May 23, 2013. Kiribati consists of a chain of 33 atolls and islands that stand just meters above sea level, spread over a huge expanse of otherwise empty ocean. (Reuters)
North and South Tarawa are seen from the air in the central Pacific Island nation of Kiribati, May 23, 2013. Kiribati consists of a chain of 33 atolls and islands that stand just meters above sea level, spread over a huge expanse of otherwise empty ocean. (Reuters)

Five people, including two children, were rescued this week in the South Pacific island nation of Kiribati after three months drifting at sea in a 20-foot skiff, authorities said. Another four remained missing.

Villagers rescued the group Sunday off Fanning Island in Kiribati, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported, after they had drifted an estimated 5,400 kilometers (3,355 miles) east from the Federated States of Micronesia.

The US Coast Guard in Guam on Tuesday confirmed that the skiff with nine people aboard had been reported missing after it failed to return to Ruo Island in Micronesia on July 30. A 10-day search covering 85,700 square kilometers (33,000 square miles) followed without any sign of the missing boat or those aboard, it said.

“Incredible and wonderful news these five folks were found and are receiving care,” the US Coast Guard told The Associated Press in an email.

“Our profound condolences to family and friends of those who did not arrive with them,” the email added.

When asked by the AP what happened to the missing four, the US Coast Guard said it was continuing to gather and confirm information and would reply as soon as possible.

A lawmaker in Kiribati, Kaotitaake Rakoroa, told ABC the survivors were being cared for by a pastor on the island.

Nursing officer Paukin Tororo told the ABC on Monday that all five were severely dehydrated and malnourished. All were put on intravenous drips and were showing signs of recovery.

“They can give a smile face, they show the sign they want to eat,” she told the ABC.

The survivors had yet to speak publicly about their ordeal and had requested privacy, the Australian broadcaster reported.

The governor of Micronesia's Chuuk state, Alexander Narruhn, issued a statement Sunday saying he had begun talks with the Kiribati government to bring the survivors home.

“There were nine people aboard the boat that went missing. Thanks be to God for his love and mercy that five of the nine have been found,” Narruhn said through an interpreter.

“We continue to pray for their four companions,” he added. Narruhn did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment.

The nine had been making a one-hour crossing between the islands of Murilo and Ruo when they were caught in a storm, the ABC reported.

Varieties

Lahore, Delhi Choke as Air Pollution Spikes in Parts of South Asia

Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)
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Lahore, Delhi Choke as Air Pollution Spikes in Parts of South Asia

Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk amid smog at the Kartavya Path near India gate in New Delhi on November 3, 2026. (AFP)

Air quality deteriorated sharply in parts of northern India and adjoining Pakistan on Tuesday, with the onset of pre-winter smog making Lahore the world's most polluted city and authorities in Delhi imposing curbs to fight the toxic haze over the capital.

Air pollution becomes a severe problem for the region around this time of the year when cold, dense air traps ‌emissions from vehicles, ‌construction sites and crop waste burning, pushing pollution levels ‌to ⁠the highest in ⁠the world and exposing residents to serious respiratory risks.

Early on Tuesday, the air quality index (AQI) in Lahore stood at 447, according to IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of toxins. An ⁠AQI reading of up to 50 is considered good ‌with little or no health risk.

Lahore's PM2.5 ‌concentration was 60 times higher than the World Health Organization's annual PM2.5 ‌exposure guideline. PM2.5 refers to particulate matter measuring 2.5 microns or ‌less in diameter that can be carried into the lungs, risking deadly diseases and heart problems.

A significant drop in temperatures and sluggish winds have affected air quality in Lahore, authorities said.

Pakistan's government has intensified action against brick kilns ‌violating environmental regulations and continues to urge farmers not to burn crop residue after harvesting.

The AQI in ⁠Delhi was ⁠lower at 215, as per IQAir. India's Central Pollution Control Board rated the capital city's air quality "very poor" with a higher AQI reading of 332.

The Swiss and Indian readings vary due to the different AQI scales and methodologies used to calculate and classify air pollution levels.

Delhi's graded pollution control measures — including restrictions on polluting vehicles, construction activities, the use of coal and firewood in eateries, and boosting public transport services — took effect on Monday.

With Diwali over the weekend expected to add to the pollution, India's Supreme Court has allowed only low-polluting fireworks to be burst for three hours each on Saturday and Sunday.

Varieties

South Korea Investigates Online Leak of President's Passport Details

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a budget speech for 2027 at the National Assembly in Seoul on November 2, 2026. Lee Jin-man / POOL/AFP
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a budget speech for 2027 at the National Assembly in Seoul on November 2, 2026. Lee Jin-man / POOL/AFP
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South Korea Investigates Online Leak of President's Passport Details

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a budget speech for 2027 at the National Assembly in Seoul on November 2, 2026. Lee Jin-man / POOL/AFP
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a budget speech for 2027 at the National Assembly in Seoul on November 2, 2026. Lee Jin-man / POOL/AFP

South Korea is investigating an online leak of passport details belonging to President Lee Jae Myung and more than 160 other officials, a government minister said on Tuesday.

Local media reported on Monday that a computer file containing personal details, including the passport numbers and dates of birth of the first couple and senior officials accompanying Lee on an overseas trip, had been uploaded to a website in June, AFP said.

The file was reportedly uploaded to VirusTotal, a malware-scanning platform, ahead of Lee's visit to Europe, and remained accessible for nearly five months.

It remains unclear who uploaded it and why.

The foreign ministry has since renewed the passports of all those affected, including Lee, and had the exposed information removed from the website, ministry spokesman Park Doo-soon said at a news briefing on Tuesday.

"The foreign ministry is now working with the National Police Agency and other agencies to determine how the information was leaked," he said.

Park said the ministry was treating the incident as a data leak rather than a hacking attack, and was examining computers and email accounts used to prepare the presidential trip.

The leak was a "serious matter that must not be taken lightly", Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Kwang-hyun told an emergency meeting on the breach, according to Lee's office.

The incident has raised "need for a thorough investigation into how the leak occurred, the extent of the information exposed and whether any actual harm had resulted", he said.