Delhi wakes up to toxic skies after Diwali, 36 of 38 zones in red

Delhi skies were blanketed in a thick grey smog the morning after Diwali celebrations, as the city’s air quality plunged to hazardous levels. The Air Quality Index (AQI) dipped to the severe category on Tuesday, with the overall AQI recorded at 448 as of 8:12 am.

While most areas in the national capital recorded AQI levels above 300, several localities, including Greater Kailash and Patel Nagar, breached the 500 mark, entering the “severe” range. Out of Delhi’s 38 monitoring stations, 36 turned red, reflecting dangerously high levels of pollution.

Notably, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered good, 51 to 100 satisfactory, 101 to 200 moderate, 201 to 300 poor, 301 to 400 very poor, and 401 to 500 severe.

Delhi’s 'green' Diwali

The spike in pollution came as Delhi legally celebrated its first “green Diwali” in years. Ahead of the festival, the Supreme Court permitted the use of green crackers in the Delhi-NCR region between October 18 and 20, but only during two designated time slots: from 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 pm.

However, these restrictions were widely flouted, with residents bursting crackers well before and after the permitted hours.

A familiar pattern

The morning after Diwali in 2025 mirrored the previous year’s trend. Despite a complete ban on firecrackers last Diwali, the city had witnessed a similar dip in air quality, as AQI reached severe levels in most monitoring zones.

GRAP-II imposed in Delhi

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Sunday announced that Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has been put into effect in Delhi. The decision was taken as pollution levels in the city were expected to worsen in the coming days due to weather conditions and the bursting of firecrackers.

Stage II of GRAP is enforced when the AQI falls into the “very poor” category.