Delhi Chokes On Diwali Night: 36 Of 38 AQI Stations Slip Into ‘Red Zone’ Amid Fireworks, Air Turns Toxic

On Monday night, Delhi’s air quality suffered tremendously as people throughout the national capital marked Diwali with fireworks, exceeding the pollution limit in the red zone for most areas of Delhi. 

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), rated by the AQI in ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ levels of air quality, 36 of 38 air quality monitoring stations reported poor air quality. 

In 10 PM AQI, Delhi reported an overall AQI of 344, which is in ‘very poor’ rated pollution.  In four key monitoring stations (Wazirpur 423, Dwarka 417, Ashok Vihar and Anand Vihar both 404) reported ‘severe’ pollution with AQI above 400.

The city’s 24-hour average AQI, which is also updated at 4 pm every day, was also in the ‘very poor’ category at 345, compared to 326 on Sunday, as per CPCB data. The air was ‘very poor’ at 31 stations in the afternoon, and three were already in the ‘severe’ category.

Experts alert that the damage could become worse for the next two days because of stagnant wind conditions and the buildup of smog post-Diwali. Both India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) forecasts indicate the AQI will dip into the ‘severe’ category on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Decision Support System (DSS) had blamed 15.6% of the city’s pollution on transport emissions and industrial activities approximately 23.3% on Monday.

As a precaution against poor air quality, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday had already imposed Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in Delhi-NCR, limiting particular industrial operations and construction activities.

The CPCB categorises AQI between 0–50 as ‘good’, 51–100 ‘satisfactory’, 101–200 ‘moderate’, 201–300 ‘poor’, 301–400 ‘very poor’, and 401–500 ‘severe’.

In spite of the order of the Supreme Court permitting green firecrackers only from 8 pm to 10 pm, many areas of the capital saw extensive bursting of traditional fireworks during the night and late night, contributing to the pollution surge.

As visibility is likely to decrease and the health hazard increases, officials have advised people—particularly children, the aged, and asthmatics to remain indoors and wear N95 masks and use air purifiers if they have to go outdoors.

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