Sixteen farmers arrested for burning crop waste as pollution rises in north India

At least 16 farmers have been arrested in India's northern state of Haryana for illegally burning paddy stubble to clear fields, a practice that stokes air pollution in the region around New Delhi at the onset of winter, authorities said on Tuesday. India's national capital region battles pollution at this time each year as temperatures fall and cold, heavy air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions and smoke, much of which authorities say travels from the neighbouring breadbasket states of Punjab and Haryana. Delhi, ranked the world's most polluted capital for four years in a row by Swiss group IQAir, has closed its schools and halted construction projects for brief periods in the past as it looks to tackle the problem.