New Delhi: The smog arrived before the crackers did. Delhi's Air Quality Index stood at 384 on Diwali morning, in the 'very poor' band, according to Central Pollution Control Board data.
At station level it was worse. Jahangirpuri read 450. Punjabi Bagh 449. RK Puram 448. IIT Delhi 445. Anything between 401 and 500 is graded 'severe', a band in which healthy people can fall ill.
Saturday's 24-hour average was 369 — the highest recorded on the day before Diwali since 2016, when the index touched 404. It was 382 on Friday.
The Commission for Air Quality Management had already invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan across Delhi-NCR on Friday. Non-essential construction and demolition stopped, stone crushers and mining were restricted, and BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers were barred. Classes up to Class 5 moved to a hybrid mode.
The Supreme Court has permitted only certified green crackers, for one hour in the morning and two in the evening on November 7 and 8. Delhi Police formed more than 250 special enforcement teams. Officers have acknowledged that telling a green cracker from a conventional one at the roadside is close to impossible, and that conventional stock has been on sale in Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazaar.
The evening window told its own story. Across 55 reporting stations, average PM2.5 rose from 177 micrograms per cubic metre at 7.45pm to 289 by 10pm on Saturday. Punjabi Bagh went from 208 to 593 in an hour. Mundka touched 718.
Farm fires climbed to a seasonal high, with 589 crop-residue burning incidents reported across six states on Friday — Punjab 357, Madhya Pradesh 139, Rajasthan 58, Uttar Pradesh 23, Haryana 9, Uttarakhand 3.
The Air Quality Early Warning System expects 'severe' air on November 8 and 9. IITM's forecast puts the AQI at 406 by early Monday. "The next 48 hours look worse," said Sunil Dahiya of the think tank Envirocatalysts. "Winds stay weak, and the forecasts already put Delhi at or near 'severe' for Diwali and the day after."
Children, the elderly and people with respiratory or heart conditions have been advised to stay indoors and wear N95 masks if they must go out.