India: Delhi chokes on most polluted Diwali eve in 10 years

Here's a roundup of headlines from across India on Saturday, November 7, and Sunday, November 8:

Delhi awoke Sunday morning enveloped in smog with poor visibility after the previous night saw the worst air quality for Diwali eve in 10 years.

India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said the Indian capital had a "very poor" air quality index (AQI) of 362 on Saturday. The worst polluted pre-Diwali day was in 2016, when the AQI hit 404 on October 29, according to the CPCB.

The air quality is forecast to turn "severe" on Sunday, with Diwali celebrations adding to the pollution.

Swiss monitor IQAir, meanwhile, ranked Delhi as the world's worst polluted major city on Saturday.

While vehicular emissions and stubble burning in neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana are major contributors to air pollution, Diwali celebrations, which involve large-scale burning of firecrackers, add to the pollution in the city.

The government had already ordered schools in and ​around Delhi to offer online classes, and ​encouraged people to work from home ahead of ⁠the Hindu festival of light.

Hello, we are back again with all the news from India.

Diwali celebrations are in full swing, with cities lit up by colourful lights and social media feeds awash with pictures of people dressed up for glamorous Diwali parties.

In the capital, however, like every year, the toxic air continues to dampen the mood. This year, Delhi saw the worst air on Diwali eve in 10 years.

Up in the north, activist Sonam Wangchuk has alleged that he was being continuously witch-hunted by the Ladakh administration.

Stay tuned as we bring you more updates from India through the day.

Indian Prime Minister Nardendra Modi extended Diwali greeting to the nation in a video on X.

He said he would celebrate the festival with soldiers, as he does every year.

Sanitation workers in state capital Bhopal ended their indefinite strike after three days following late-night talks with Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, according to Indian news agency Press Trust of India.

According to the sanitation workers' union, the breakthrough came after the state government agreed to initiate the regularization process for workers employed for 25 days a month, a move which will allow a pay hike.

According to local media, the sanitation workers had four major demands: a pay rise, compassionate appointments, regularization of jobs and an end to the short-term gig worker contract system. Their primary demand is an increase in the monthly wage from Rs 10,500 (about $111) to Rs 25,000.

The protest had left Bhopal, which was named the cleanest state capital in India in 2023, littered with heaps of uncollected garbage.

The workers claimed that more than 100,000 workers participated in the agitation across Madhya Pradesh.

Despite years of government interventions, emergency restrictions and public outrage, Delhi continues to battle dangerously polluted air every winter. Why isn't there a lasting solution to a predictable crisis?

Learn more about the persistent pollution issues in India's capital in this report by DW's Shakeel Sobhan.

One of India’s most successful fast bowlers, Mohammed Shami, has announced his retirement from Test cricket.

The move brings his 13-year career to an end, but he will continue to play white ball formats.

The 36-year-old cricketer announced in an Instagram video that he was ending his career in whites.

"I am bidding farewell to the white jersey, but never to the memories associated with it. When I wore India's Test jersey for the first time, I had only one dream — to do something for my country. Since then, every wicket, every struggle, every injury, and every comeback has taught me something," Shami said.

Shami made his Test debut against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens on November 6, 2013. He finished with 229 wickets at an average of 27.71, including six five-wicket hauls.

His international red ball journey spans 229 wickets from 64 matches, making him the sixth most successful pacer in Tests for the country behind Kapil Dev (434), Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma (both 311), Javagal Srinath (236), Jasprit Bumrah (234).

Shami last played for India in Tests in the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval in 2023.

Since then, injuries have disrupted his career, but he remained an important part of India's white-ball setup.

Shami clarified that his retirement would not mark the end of his playing career. He said he would continue to play white-ball cricket and could also turn out in four-day matches occasionally.

Social media platform X said that police orders it received to remove online accounts of two of India's most ​prominent free speech groups were fake.

Lawyers representing X told the court that someone impersonating Delhi police had sent the emails.

X received orders through its online reporting form in the name of a ​senior Delhi police officer seeking removal of the online accounts of free speech groups, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre, ⁠India (SFLC.in).

The orders claimed the groups had defamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, parent organization of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

After an internal investigation, the social media company's lawyers on Friday told the Delhi High Court that, "It ​turns out this was somebody playing an impostor, somebody impersonating Delhi police who has sent this."

The orders had sparked an uproar on social media this week and were challenged for their legality by Amnesty and India's main opposition party.

The Supreme Court of India on Friday said that vehicular pollution is a major contributor to the deteriorating air quality in Delhi and questioned the effectiveness of the government's measures to curb it.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, opened the proceedings with a jibe saying, "I hope you all are enjoying the weather in Delhi."

This week, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) has remained above the "hazardous" 300 mark.

Air quality in the capital regularly plummets at the outset of winter, as weather conditions help trap pollutants.

"A major cause of the pollution is vehicular pollution. Look at the roads in Delhi, look at the roads connecting Delhi to the NCR (the National Capital Region)… the kind of bumper-to-bumper traffic… that's the major cause," the CJI said.

The court examined the steps taken by the government to control the rising levels of air pollution.

Expressing concerns over the failure of measures to curb air pollution in Delhi over the years, the court said, "To think we can achieve air quality of less than 100 AQI in Delhi during winters is utopian when 'very poor' and 'severe' have become the new normal."

On stubble burning, the court said farmers should be given economic incentives and practical alternatives.

The court also encouraged responsible celebrations during festivals, particularly Diwali, where firecrackers being set off adds to the air pollution.

"Why don't we revert to our original customs?" the CJI said, adding celebrations should be accompanied by a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

Hi! This is Midhat from DW's New Delhi Bureau, bringing you all the important updates from India.

Festive spirits are high as Diwali celebrations begin, but so are the capital's air quality levels, as Delhi's air turns more toxic with each passing day.

Meanwhile, social media platform X has told India's Supreme Court that the police orders asking X to block online accounts of two of India's most ​prominent free speech groups were fake.