Asia News Wrap: Pollution prompts school closures in Delhi, and more

Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.

Smog covered India’s capital New Delhi on Thursday and the government shut primary schools for two days. The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 415 on a scale of 500 in the capital on Thursday, indicating “severe” levels of pollution. AQI between 0-50 is considered healthy. 

Reuters reported that, “The dip in air quality in the region during the winter months is often accompanied by a spike in respiratory illnesses, spurring school and factory closings. The New Delhi government has announced a ban on the entry of diesel buses and said construction activities will be halted if the situation persists.” With AQI levels above 400, New Delhi and Pakistan’s Lahore on Thursday topped a real-time list of the world’s most polluted cities compiled by Swiss group IQAir.

The Shenzhou-16 crew returned to Earth on Tuesday morning after five months on the China Space Station. They had an in-orbit handover on Sunday with the newly arrived Shenzhou-17 crew. 

The Shenzhou 16 crew replaced the Shenzhou-15 crew when they arrived at the space station in late May. While in-orbit, they conducted a range of experiments and a spacewalk. The Shenzhou-17 crew are expected to be on the space station for six months.

The third release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the ocean from Japan’s tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began on Thursday. The plant operator discharged 7,800 tonnes of treated water in each of the first two batches and plans to release the same amount in the current batch until November 20. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin condemned Japan as “extremely irresponsible” at a press conference on Thursday.

At least 14 people died and about 50 were injured after two passenger trains collided in India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday. 

Railway officials said a preliminary investigation has found that a “human error” led to the collision. They said one of the trains that “overshot” a signal was the main cause of the fatal accident that occurred near the Kantakapalli station on the Chennai-Howrah main line.

Nearly 500,000 acres of oil palm plantations in areas designated as forests in Indonesia are expected to be returned to the state and converted back into forests, a government official said late on Tuesday. 

Indonesia, the world’s biggest palm oil producer, issued rules three years ago fixing the legality of plantations operating in areas that are supposed to be forests. Companies had to submit paperwork and pay fines to obtain cultivating rights on their plantations by Thursday. Manila has threatened legal action against palm oil companies that use land illegally after that. The country had faced criticism about the crop’s impact on deforestation.

(Cover: A man walks on the lawns near India Gate amid heavy pollution in New Delhi, India, November 1, 2023. /CFP)