New Delhi, A smoky haze hung over Delhi on Diwali night, blurring streetlights and blanketing neighbourhoods as celebrations intensified across the capital, pushing air quality at 20 monitoring stations into the ‘severe’ category, with the overall Air Quality Index standing at 371 at 10 pm.
Burari, Alipur and Punjabi Bagh were among the other areas recording high pollution levels. As the cracker-bursting continued, smoke accumulated over several neighbourhoods, adding to the existing pollution burden. Weather and air quality experts have attributed the anticipated deterioration to unfavourable meteorological conditions, vehicular emissions, Diwali celebrations and the ongoing peak stubble-burning season in neighbouring states.
Sonia Vihar recorded the worst air quality, with an AQI of 463, followed by Jahangirpuri at 450. firecracker bursting picked up from around 5-6 pm, with celebrations gathering pace as night fell While roads across much of the capital remained relatively deserted during the day. An AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’, according to the Central Pollution Control Board . The transport sector was set to be the largest contributor to the city’s pollution on Sunday, accounting for 19 per cent, according to the Decision Support System for Delhi. Stubble burning was set to contribute 3.5 per cent, with forecasts suggesting the contribution might remain around 2.99 per cent on Monday.
