Thick smog blankets Delhi on Deepavali night, AQI at 20 stations ‘severe’

New Delhi A smoky haze hung over Delhi on Deepavali 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 p.m.. The haze grew denser as the evening progressed, with smoke from firecrackers hanging over roads and residential neighbourhoods.

The smell of burnt crackers lingered in the air, while visibility dropped in several parts of the capital and residents reported difficulty breathing. Watch: Delhi air pollution: Capital sees ‘very poor’ AQI on Deepavali as GRAP 3 curbs continue Watch: Delhi air pollution: Capital sees ‘very poor’ AQI on Deepavali as GRAP 3 curbs continue Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air quality on Deepavali, with the overall AQI at 383 in the morning and improving marginally to 378 by 3:00 PM.

However, several monitoring stations continued to log ‘severe’ pollution levels, led by Jahangirpuri at 461 and Rohini at 447.