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Delhi ends Diwali eve at AQI 369, with 16 stations in the severe band
The city average eased from Friday's 382 but stayed very poor, with GRAP Stage III curbs in force and forecasters expecting severe air on Diwali day and the day after.
Key points
- Delhi's average AQI was 369 on Saturday, against 382 on Friday, still short of the 400 severe mark.
- Of 59 stations reporting, 16 were severe and 29 very poor, with the highest reading of 452 near IIT Delhi.
- The early warning system expects severe air on November 8 and 9, with GRAP Stage III in force.
Delhi’s air stayed very poor on Diwali eve, with the city’s average Air Quality Index at 369 on Saturday, a shade better than Friday’s 382 but only a few points short of the 400 mark for severe air. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage III restrictions remain in force across the capital region.
The average hides a worse picture at the stations. Of 59 monitoring stations reporting on Saturday, 16 were in the severe band and 29 were very poor. The highest reading was 452 near IIT Delhi, and several areas had already crossed 400.
What forecasters expect
The Air Quality Early Warning System expects severe air on November 8 and 9, the days of Diwali and after it. For the six days that follow, it sees levels moving between severe and very poor. Festive emissions, vehicle exhaust and stubble burning are among the drivers, with unfavourable weather adding to them. The India Meteorological Department expects mainly clear skies with shallow fog or mist in the mornings and temperatures between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius, and has issued no weather warning for Delhi over the next seven days.
Curbs and warnings
GRAP Stage III took effect on Friday as a precaution, four days after Stage II. Polluting construction and demolition work is barred across the National Capital Region, older and more polluting vehicles face restrictions, and hybrid classes have been recommended for junior students. The Supreme Court has allowed certified green crackers only on November 7 and 8.
Environmentalist Manu Singh said Delhi is “heading towards a potentially alarming pollution episode around Diwali”, citing low winds, falling temperatures and a shallow mixing height that traps pollutants near the ground. He said a wind shift alone would not clear the air.
Shailender Kumar, an academic councillor at IGNOU, said readings above 450 are possible at some stations early after Diwali, depending on farm-fire smoke, how still the air is and how well the cracker rules are followed. The city average can stay lower, experts note, while individual localities record much higher levels.