Delhi tops pollution charts with AQI of 429

The national capital woke up on Tuesday to a smoky grey haze blanketing the skies, reduced visibility, and air quality slipping into the ‘red zone’ after residents celebrated Diwali by bursting firecrackers well beyond the two-hour limit set by the Supreme Court.

According to a Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin, Delhi’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 351, placing it in the ‘very poor’ category.

The overall concentration of PM2.5—one of the most harmful pollutants—was recorded at 228 micrograms per cubic metre at 6 am on Tuesday, 15 times higher than the World Health Organisation’s permissible limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre for a 24-hour period.

Meanwhile, as per live data from IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology firm, Delhi ranked as the “most polluted” major city in the world on Tuesday morning among 120 cities monitored globally. The capital’s AQI reading of 429 was the highest, followed by Lahore (260) and Karachi (182), both in Pakistan.

Delhi minister Ashish Sood said it would be wrong to blame only firecrackers for the city’s choking air.

“The AQI in Anand Vihar around 5 am was 943 and 390 in Shahdara. Only firecrackers are not responsible for pollution in Delhi,” Sood said on Tuesday morning.

He urged citizens to follow the Supreme Court’s order restricting the bursting of crackers before 10 pm. “People should have followed the SC’s order to burst crackers before 10 pm,” he added.

Sood said Delhi’s pollution levels were influenced by multiple factors, including weather conditions and emissions from neighbouring states. “Delhi has no weather of its own; many factors determine the weather and pollution levels here, and adjacent states also have a role to play,” he said.

The Supreme Court had allowed the use of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali, which was celebrated on Monday. However, many flouted the court directions, with celebrations continuing late into the night.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

Delhi