AP PHOTOS: Thick smog shrouds Asian cities

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thick smog shrouded New Delhi and other cities around South and Southeast Asia as air pollution levels soared Thursday.

Air pollution in the region worsens particularly in winter when the burning of crop residue in agricultural areas coincides with cooler temperatures that trap the smoke. The smoke is blown into cities, where there are more people and where auto emissions further add to the pollution. Emissions from industries without pollution controls and the use of coal to produce electricity are also linked to poor air quality in urban areas.

Several studies have estimated more than a million Indians die each year from air pollution-related diseases.

New Delhi’s air quality fell into the severe category, according to SAFAR, India’s main environmental monitoring agency. It measures particulate matter in the air that can enter the lungs.

In many areas of the city, the levels were more than 50 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limit. Forecasters warned air quality will worsen before the arrival of cold winds next week that could blow away the smog.

Lahore, Pakistan, which is on the border with India, had an air quality index level considered hazardous, according to the Swiss group IQAir, which tracks global air quality.

The levels in Hanoi, Vietnam, were unhealthy, according to IQAir.

Transport, industry and construction were the main causes of bad air in Hanoi, Nguyen Hoang Anh, deputy head of the environmental quality management division at the ministry’s Pollution Control Department told state media on Monday.

Hanoi has around 1 million cars and nearly 7 million motorbikes. Many are old and don’t meet emission standards. Construction projects also don’t stop dust from escaping, and factories use fossil fuel for power, contributing to the city’s smog.

Bangkok’s air quality was unhealthy for sensitive groups on IQAir. The Meteorological Department said air ventilation rates have been poor recently and an atmospheric inversion layer caused airborne particles to accumulate.

Thick smog hangs over West Lake in Hanoi blurring buildings in the distance, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Aniruddha Ghosal)

A woman wearing a face mask rides under a hazy sky in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A bird flies through a thick layer of smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

People wearing face masks wait at a traffic signal in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

The sun shines through a thick layer of smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Yirmiyan Arthur)

A man leans on a tree on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A family on a motorcycle waits at a traffic signal surrounded by smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A worker sweeps a pathway surrounded by a thick layer of smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A Delhi government vehicle sprinkles water to control air pollution as a thick layer of smog envelops the city, New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A commuter wearing a mask rides on a road enveloped by smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Commuters walk amidst a thick layer of smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Nguyen Van Thai, wearing a face mask, exercises by the West Lake under a hazy sky in Hanoi, Vietnam on Thursday Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)

A cyclist crosses a road as smog envelopes the area of Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Pigeons rest on a traffic light post surrounded by a thick layer of smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A woman wearing a face mask walks on a street in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A boy walks with drinking water as smoke rises from a garbage dump on the outskirts of Jammu, India, Thursday, Nov.14, 2024. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)

A fruit seller arranges his stall in early morning as smog envelopes the area of Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

A thick layer of smog covers central in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Commuters wait at a traffic signal surrounded by smog in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Fans will be allowed to attend the remaining games of the Pakistan Super League after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday approved spectators for three playoff matches.

It comes two days after Sharif approved a request from franchise owners to allow fans for the PSL’s May 3 final in Lahore.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who is also interior minister in the government, announced the decision on social media after his meeting with Sharif in Islamabad.

He wrote on X that Sharif wanted the fans to “use public transport or minimize fuel consumption while attending the matches, in line with the ongoing national austerity efforts.”

Pakistan’s biggest sports spectacle of the year started behind closed doors late last month with fans asked to stay home because of soaring fuel prices related to the Iran war.

Pakistan’s government had urged people to restrict travel and to work from home and Naqvi had said it wouldn’t be right to have 30,000 fans attending cricket matches every day while the government is asking the public to stay home.

The PCB also reduced the number of PSL venues from six to two as part of austerity measures, but barred spectators from PSL games at Lahore and Karachi.

Peshawar Zalmi, led by Babar Azam, will take on three-time champions Islamabad United in the qualifier at Karachi on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the final.

The loser faces the winner of Wednesday's eliminator between first-timers Hyderabad Kingsmen and Multan Sultans on May 1 for the second spot in the finale, with all three of those matches in Lahore.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

FILE - A view of the Gaddafi Stadium, where opening cricket match of the Pakistan Super League between Lahore Qalandars and Hyderabad Kingsmen, is taking place without spectators, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)