A smoky haze blanketed Delhi on Diwali night as firecracker smoke blurred streetlights and reduced visibility, with 20 monitoring stations recording 'hazardous' air quality. The capital's overall Air Quality Index stood at 1713 in the 'hazardous' category at 2 am on Monday. The AQI was around 843 at 6:01 am on Monday morning
The haze thickened through the evening as smoke accumulated over roads and residential neighbourhoods. The smell of burnt firecrackers lingered, while residents in several areas reported difficulty breathing.
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Firecrackers were burst across parts of the capital on Sunday evening despite restrictions, with reports from Pitampura, Burari, Mayur Vihar and Lutyens' Delhi. Residents reported particularly intense firecracker use in Burari. In the Bishambardas Marg area and other parts of Lutyens' Delhi, fireworks continued, although their intensity eased slightly.
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Ahead of Diwali, the Delhi government had urged residents to follow the Supreme Court's directions on the sale and use of green firecrackers. An order issued by the District Magistrate (East) permitted green firecrackers only on November 7 and 8, from 6 am to 7 am and from 8 pm to 10 pm.
Of the 59 monitoring stations reporting data at 10 pm, 20 recorded ‘severe' air quality, 33 were in the ‘very poor' category and six were in the ‘poor' category.
Sonia Vihar recorded the highest AQI at 463, followed by Jahangirpuri at 450. Burari, Alipur and Punjabi Bagh also recorded high pollution levels. Sonia Vihar, Jahangirpuri, Punjabi Bagh, Burari, Okhla and Rohini remained in the ‘severe' category throughout the day.
Delhi's overall AQI stood at 371 at 7 pm, unchanged at 10 pm. The daily average settled at 376, compared with 369 on Saturday, remaining in the ‘very poor' category amid smog and reduced visibility.
Roads across much of the capital were relatively deserted during the day, but firecracker use picked up around 5 pm to 6 pm as celebrations gathered pace. Smoke built up over several neighbourhoods through the evening, adding to existing pollution.
Users on X reported a strong smell of smoke, reduced visibility and breathing difficulties as celebrations continued into the night.
According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI of 0–50 is ‘good', 51–100 ‘satisfactory', 101–200 ‘moderate', 201–300 ‘poor', 301–400 ‘very poor' and 401–500 ‘severe'.
The Air Quality Early Warning System forecast that Delhi's air quality would slip into the ‘severe' category from November 9 and remain there for the following few days.
Weather and air quality experts attributed the expected deterioration to unfavourable meteorological conditions, vehicular emissions, Diwali celebrations and the peak stubble-burning season in neighbouring states.
According to the early warning system, a ventilation index below 6,000 square metres per second, combined with average wind speeds below 10 kilometres per hour, hampers the dispersion of pollutants.
PM2.5 remained Delhi's predominant pollutant on Sunday, with firecracker emissions adding to particulate matter levels.
The Decision Support System for Delhi projected transport to be the largest contributor to the city's pollution on Sunday at 19%. Stubble burning was expected to account for 3.5%, with its contribution forecast at around 2.99% on Monday.
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