Delhites woke-up to worsen air quality as territory celebrated Diwali using firecrackers. Air quality slipped to ‘very poor’ category as blanket of toxic smoke engulfed Delhi-NCR region.
Majority of areas in national capital recorded air quality index between 300 to 400. Data from central pollution and control board revealed that an average AQI in Delhi remained at 361 till 7:30 in the morning.
People in the region celebrated Diwali violating the ban on firecrackers pushing the air to ‘very poor’. The quality of air remains the center of concern in union territory contributing to political slugfest as well.
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The air pollution levels in surrounding cities also increased after a night of firecrackers bursting by people. In the NCR city of Faridabad, the AQI was 244; in Gurugram it was 348; in Ghaziabad 381; in Greater Noida 370; and in Noida, the air pollution level was 295.
According to the index, the numbers between 201 to 300 falls to the category of poor while 300-400 index represent the ‘very poor’ quality of air. However, index between 0-50 represent healthy and live-able air in surroundings. 51-100 falls to satisfactory category and 101-200 indicates moderate air.
The Delhi government on October 14 imposed a ban on the production, storage, sale, and use of firecrackers across the city, effective until January 1, 2025. The government has also deployed 377 enforcement teams to tackle this, but many people defied the ban and burst firecrackers
The pollution levels at many of the pollution measuring stations of Delhi-NCR touched a peak around midnight.
