India news: Delhi air quality level 'severe' after Diwali

Nineteen Indian seafarers who had been stranded in Yemen's Hodeidah and Sanaa for nearly two weeks have been evacuated, the Indian Embassy in Yemen said in a post on X late Sunday. A 2022 truce that had paused fighting in Yemen's longstanding conflict crumbled in July, restarting fighting between the Houthi rebels and the Middle Eastern country's Saudi Arabia-backed government.

According to India's foreign ministry, 23 Indian nationals have been killed since the Middle East war began in February, with seafarers accounting for 15 deaths. Several parts of New Delhi and the surrounding satellite cities that make up the National Capital Region (NCR), have reported an Air Quality Index (AQI) in the "severe" category, posing significant health risks.

Skies over the capital which were lit up by fireworks on Sunday night are now blanketed with a thick layer of toxic smog . Air pollution in parts of Delhi-NCR dangerously surpassed the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended 24-hour average limit on Monday by over 50 times, reports said.