Residents of the national capital woke up to a thick blanket of smog on Wednesday morning, as Delhi’s air quality took a severe hit following Diwali celebrations. At 5:30 a.m., the Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 345, falling in the ‘very poor’ category, as per data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Despite restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court on the use of firecrackers, several parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) witnessed widespread violations on Diwali night.

Advertisement

On Tuesday, many monitoring stations recorded AQI levels breaching the 500-mark, a level categorised as ‘severe’.

The 24-hour average AQI for Tuesday was 351, a sharp rise from 345 recorded on Monday.

The pollution spike comes as no surprise, as Delhi has historically grapple

See Full Page