Delhi AQI turns very poor from Diwali night

As speculated, the air quality in Delhi has turned very poor the night after Diwali. Crackers violations and stubble burning have lent AQI 'very poor' in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida. According to IQAir, Delhi on Diwali was the most polluted city in the world, followed by Lahore in Pakistan.

Air pollution worsens in Delhi-NCR on the night of Diwali, air quality plummets to 'Very Poor' category in Delhi and Noida. pic.twitter.com/1GkAyt952F

— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2022

System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), showed 'severe' AQI levels on Diwali itself and has predicted that the air will remain in the red zone for days to come.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2022, the AQI of Delhi at 4:30 pm according to Central Pollution Control Board was 325 at Punjabi Bagh, 321 at North Campus, and 313 at Pusa, Delhi. Similar numbers were witnessed in Noida. 

Also read: Delhi Govt approves allocation of Yamuna Ghats for celebration of Chhath

Data shows that almost all the stations in the capital saw a sharp increase in pollutants from 8 pm to 1 am due to bursting of crackers. Most polluted areas were in South Delhi. The most polluted stations were RK Puram, Okhla, Karni Singh Shooting range, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered "good", 51 and 100 "satisfactory", 101 and 200 "moderate", 201 and 300 "poor", 301 and 400 "very poor", and 401 and 500 "severe".