The air quality in Delhi worsened this morning as people defied a ban on firecrackers during Diwali celebrations on Thursday.

The relentless bursting of firecrackers caused severe noise pollution and blanketed the national capital in dense smoke with residents flouting the restrictions till late at night.

#WATCH | Delhi skyline on #Diwali shows the city illuminated in colourful lights. pic.twitter.com/BRvtW3wsRz

— ANI (@ANI) October 31, 2024

According to the real-time data provided by the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) soared to 359 at 6:30 am, which falls under the “very poor” category. The AQI on the morning of Diwali was at 328.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, 401 and 450 severe, and above 450 severe-plus.

The AQI level in most of the 40 monitoring stations in the city remained in the “very poor” category with Anand Vihar and RK Puram reporting the worst air quality index of 395.

#WATCH | Delhi: A thin layer of smog engulfs the National Capital as the air quality continues to deteriorate.

As per the CPCB, the AQI of the area is 317, in the ‘very poor’ category.

(Visuals from India Gate) pic.twitter.com/nKvFMOPZrd

— ANI (@ANI) November 1, 2024

Burari Crossing (394), Sonia Vihar (392), Punjabi Bagh (391), North Campus (390), Bawana (388), Jahangirpuri (387), Rohini (385), Ashok Vihar (384), and Nehru Nagar (381) were some other places with the “very poor” air quality

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, has said that the air quality in the national capital is likely to be in the “very poor” category (AQI 300 to 400) on Friday.

ALSO READ | Delhi Air Pollution, Ahead Of Winter, Raises Respiratory Illness By 15%

On Diwali eve, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai announced that 377 teams were formed to enforce the ban on firecrackers across the capital. A senior Delhi Police officer had said all deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) were asked to form dedicated teams to ensure that firecrackers are not burst in their respective districts.

Last year, the “festival of lights” was celebrated on November 12 and Delhi recorded its best air quality on Diwali day in eight years, with the average AQI at 218.

Stubble burning or farm fires in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab, especially during the post-harvest season of October and November, are also often blamed for the rise in pollution levels in Delhi.

ALSO READ | Smog Engulfs Delhi-NCR, Toxic Foam Blankets Yamuna River As Winter Approaches

The capital has been breathing hazardous air quality for the past few weeks, prompting authorities to impose stage two of the GRAP or the Graded Response Action Plan last week.

Former US President Donald Trump, in a Diwali message on Thursday, condemned the atrocities faced by Hindus in Bangladesh, especially after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. He also vowed to protect the Hindu Americans against “anti-religion agendas” and fight for their freedom.

“I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos. It would have never happened on my watch,” Mr Trump wrote in a post on X.

This is the first time Mr Trump has spoken on the issue of Bangladesh.

The US Presidential candidate hit out at his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, saying that she and US President Joe Biden have “ignored” Hindus across the world as well as in America.

“Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the world and in America. They have been a disaster from Israel to Ukraine to our own Southern Border, but we will Make America Strong Again and bring back Peace through Strength!,” he said.

Mr Trump, who extended his Diwali wishes to Indians, also vowed to strengthen his country’s partnership with India and his “good friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Under my administration, we will also strengthen our great partnership with India and my good friend, Prime Minister Modi. Also, Happy Diwali to All. I hope the Festival of Lights leads to the Victory of Good over Evil,” he wrote.

I strongly condemn the barbaric violence against Hindus, Christians, and other minorities who are getting attacked and looted by mobs in Bangladesh, which remains in a total state of chaos.

It would have never happened on my watch. Kamala and Joe have ignored Hindus across the…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2024

On August 5, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country, ending her 15-year rule as student protests against her government escalated. Following this, the minority Hindus in the country have been facing violence, and vandalism of temples and their businesses. According to the Bangladesh National Hindu Grand Alliance, attacks and threats against the minority community have taken place in over 200 locations across 48 districts. Hundreds of Hindus were also killed between July and August this year.

The minority Hindus constitute about eight percent of the population in Bangladesh.

Russia issued a fine against Google, estimated at an astronomical $20 decillion – a 2 followed by 34 zeroes. The unprecedented penalty targets YouTube, owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, over the platform’s decision to block Russian state-run media channels in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This sum far exceeds any reasonable financial scale, surpassing the entire global economy many times over.

The penalty arose after a Russian court ruled that Google violated national broadcasting rules by barring channels from Russian state-backed media outlets on YouTube. The fine is compounded by an additional ruling that demands the restoration of these channels, with the fines doubling each day if the platform fails to comply within a nine-month period. 

The issue traces back to March 2022, when YouTube announced a global ban on several Russian state-operated channels, including RT and Sputnik. The platform justified its decision by pointing to content policies prohibiting material that denies, minimises, or trivialises violent events. YouTube has enforced such policies against channels supporting Russia’s narratives around the Ukraine conflict, removing over 1,000 channels and more than 15,000 videos globally. In Europe, restrictions on Russian state media accounts were imposed before the ban expanded worldwide. This action led to backlash from Russia, which views the move as censorship and suppression of its state-sponsored media.

Since 2020, Google has faced ongoing penalties, starting with a daily fine of 100,000 rubles (approximately $1,028) over blocked Russian channels from Tsargrad and RIA FAN, two prominent Russian state-affiliated media outlets.

According to reports, 17 Russian broadcasters have joined the legal fray, filing suits against Google and demanding the reinstatement of their channels on the platform.

Following the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Google significantly curtailed its operations within Russia but stopped short of a complete exit. Services like YouTube and Google Search remain accessible within Russian borders. Unlike some American tech companies that fully withdrew, Google’s partial operations in Russia continue, although its Russia subsidiary filed for bankruptcy several months into the conflict after the Russian government seized its bank accounts.

The Kremlin has called the fine a largely symbolic measure intended to compel Google to reconsider its stance on Russian broadcasters. Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, told Russian media that the monumental fine amount is intended to attract attention to the seriousness with which Russia views the issue of YouTube’s bans on Russian media. “I can’t even pronounce this figure right,” Peskov said.

Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has leveraged a range of penalties against foreign tech platforms for hosting content deemed anti-Russian or pro-Ukrainian. Although YouTube remains accessible within Russia, authorities have threatened to block the platform outright if it continues to restrict Russian media channels.