Delhi Records Most Polluted Post-Diwali Air Quality in Five Years; Smog Keeps Air Severe Day After

New Delhi: Delhi recorded its most polluted Diwali since 2021, with the average Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 376 on Sunday, and pollution stayed severe on Monday morning as thick smog and fog covered the capital, PTI reported.

The overall AQI was 371 at 10 am on Monday, the highest on a post-Diwali day since 2021, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. Of 51 stations reporting, 14 were in the severe category, four poor and 33 very poor. Delhi Technological University recorded the worst reading at 439. By comparison, the Diwali-day average was 345 in 2025, 328 in 2024, 218 in 2023, 312 in 2022 and 382 in 2021. Another platform, AQI.in, put Delhi’s reading at 637, in the hazardous range, by 9 am, while Swiss platform IQAir recorded an AQI of 245, with PM2.5 at about 34 times the WHO’s annual guideline.

Despite restrictions, residents burst crackers on Sunday evening in areas including Pitampura, Burari and Mayur Vihar, some beyond the permitted windows, according to reports. The District Magistrate (East) had allowed only certified green crackers on November 7 and 8, during limited morning and evening hours, and barred them near hospitals, schools and silence zones.

Visibility at Safdarjung dropped to 50 metres at 6.30 am, in the dense fog category, compared with 700 metres a day earlier, and was 400 metres at Palam. The IMD described the conditions as smog along with fog, attributing them to dry weather and calm winds.

The Air Quality Early Warning System expects severe air to continue for the next few days. Vehicle emissions, industrial activity, construction dust, fireworks and stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana contribute to the winter pollution, which worsens as temperatures fall and winds slow.