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)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's government says it will not help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country's North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.

The miners in the mineshaft in Stilfontein are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport their supplies underground.

It is part of the police’s Vala Umgodi, or Close the Hole, operation, which includes cutting off miners’ supplies to force them to return to the surface and be arrested.

North West police spokesperson Sabata Mokgwabone said information received from those who recently helped bring three miners to the surface indicated an estimated 4,000 miners may be underground.

In the past few weeks, over 1,000 miners have surfaced at various mines in North West province, with many reported to be weak, hungry and sickly after going for weeks without basic supplies.

Police continue on Thursday to guard areas around the mine to catch all those appearing from underground.

Cabinet Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters on Wednesday that the government would not send any help to the illegal miners because they are involved in a criminal act.

“We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out. They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped. We didn’t send them there," Ntshavheni said.

Illegal mining remains common in South Africa's old gold-mining areas, with miners going into closed shafts to dig for any possible remaining deposits.

The illegal miners are often from neighboring countries, and police say the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ the miners.

Their presence in closed mines have also created problems with nearby communities, which complain that the illegal miners commit crimes ranging from robberies to rape.

Illegal mining groups are known to be heavily armed and disputes between rival groups sometimes result in fatal confrontations.

Police patrol at a mine shaft where an estimated 4000 illegal miners are trapped in a disused mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov.13, 2024. (AP Photo)

Relatives of miners and community members wait at a mine shaft where an estimated 4000 illegal miners are trapped in a disused mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov.13, 2024. (AP Photo)

An aerial view of a mine shaft where an estimated 4000 illegal miners are trapped in a disused mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov.13, 2024. (AP Photo)