Delhi's air quality deteriorated sharply on Diwali morning, Sunday, November 8, with the overall Air Quality Index (AQI) slipping into the 'severe' category at 483 at 8:10 a.m., according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data reported by ANI and published by The Hindu BusinessLine. The reading is a sharp escalation within the same morning: CPCB data reported earlier put Delhi's overall AQI at 384 at 6 a.m., in the 'very poor' band, and at 364 on Saturday morning.

Source: ANI, via The Hindu BusinessLine (CPCB data)

483Delhi overall AQI at 8:10 a.m., Nov 8 — CPCB via ANI
384Delhi overall AQI at 6 a.m. the same morning
449 / 448Punjabi Bagh / RK Puram AQI
446 / 445Bawana / IIT Delhi and Rohini AQI

Pollution was severe across much of the capital. According to the CPCB data reported by ANI, Punjabi Bagh recorded an AQI of 449, RK Puram 448, Bawana 446, and IIT Delhi and Rohini 445 each, followed by Patparganj at 421, Chandni Chowk at 420 and Alipur at 413 — all in the 'severe' category — while the air around India Gate was recorded at 398, categorised as 'very poor'. National Times Media, reporting the same CPCB morning data independently, also put the overall AQI at 483 at 8:10 a.m. with Punjabi Bagh at 449 and RK Puram at 448.

Source: National Times Media (CPCB data)

GRAP Stage-III curbs already in force

The worsening came even as emergency curbs were already in place. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) had invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR on Friday, November 6, two days ahead of Diwali, amid concerns over further deterioration, ANI reported. Under CPCB classification, an AQI between 401 and 500 is 'severe'.

Source: ANI, via Daily Prabhat (CPCB data)

Firecrackers were also tightly limited this Diwali: under a Supreme Court order, only certified green crackers could be manufactured, sold and burst in Delhi-NCR on November 7 and 8, and only in the 6–7 a.m. and 8–10 p.m. windows, with the complete ban on firecrackers to stand restored from November 9. What happens next will depend on the post-Diwali readings through Sunday night and Monday morning, when firecracker emissions from the festival evening add to the pollution load already trapped over the capital.