99 cities recorded ‘bad’ air quality the day after Deepavali

Fireworks explode during Deepavali celebrations in Amritsar on October 31, 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP

Ninety-nine of the 265 cities for which Air Quality Index (AQI) data was available on the Central Pollution Control Board’s website reported “poor” air quality on Friday, November 1, 2024 (24-hour data before 4pm on this day).

An AQI value of 200 or higher corresponds to “poor” quality.

Thirteen cities, including Delhi, Gurugram and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Territory Region, recorded “severe” air quality – an AQI of 300 or more.

Ambala in Haryana and Amritsar in Punjab recorded the highest values ​​of 367 and 350, respectively, while Delhi’s average AQI was 339.

These 24 hours coincide with the time when Deepavali revelers start burning crackers, defying their ban in places like Delhi. The deals burn crackers on Thursday (October 31, 2024), before 4 pm again.

On Thursday (October 31, 2024), the number of cities with “very poor” and “poor” air quality was relatively few – six, including Delhi (second highest AQI of 328), and 43, respectively. On Wednesday (30 October 2024), the day before Deepavali celebrations, only Delhi registered “very bad” air quality, with an AQI of 307. in North India.

Major cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kolkata registered “moderate” AQI on Friday, but even among them, AQI values ​​exceeded those registered on October 30.

Data from 2023 associated with the Deepavali celebrations shows that Delhi’s AQI was as high as 358 on November 12, corresponding to “very bad” air quality, up from 218 (“poor”) the previous day. A similar pattern was observed last year as well.

Fifty-three and 85 cities had AQI of “very poor” and “poor” respectively on November 12 and 13 compared to eight and 42 cities the previous day.

Dirt in the winter

In cities like Delhi and others in northern India, pollution levels rise significantly during the winter season due to emissions from vehicles, factories, waste burning and construction, besides burning livers after the paddy season in neighboring countries and particles trapped in the cold air.

Adverse winds in the early winter months that do not release pollutants, also lead to rapid build-up. The burning of firecrackers also contributed to the increase in air quality during this period. On Friday, Delhi’s Anand Vihar station recorded its tenth highest concentration of PM2.5 this year (273.04 micrograms per cubic meter) if 24-hour values ​​are considered. All the other 9 were in January, when winter is in full swing in the city.