Delhi air turns severe in 23 areas on Deepavali morning; worse expected after festival
The city average was 384 at 7 a.m., with Punjabi Bagh, RK Puram and Bawana near 450. Experts expect Monday to be worse.
Delhi woke up to toxic air on Deepavali, Sunday, 8 November. The city’s average air quality index (AQI) stood at 384, in the “very poor” category, at 7 a.m., and 23 monitoring stations recorded “severe” air, above 400.
The worst readings were at Punjabi Bagh (449), RK Puram (448), Bawana (446), and IIT Delhi and Rohini (445 each), according to Central Pollution Control Board data. Later readings in the morning were higher still, according to some reports. On Saturday, the eve of the festival, the city average was 369, its worst Diwali-eve reading since 2016.
The Commission for Air Quality Management has had Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in force across Delhi-NCR since Friday, which bars older petrol and diesel cars and halts non-essential construction. Resident groups have complained that crackers were already being burst without any check in the days before the festival.
What’s next
Experts expect air quality to slip further into the “severe” range on Monday, 9 November, once Sunday night’s crackers add to the haze under cool, still air. If the AQI crosses 450, the strictest curbs under GRAP Stage IV can be imposed.
Protect yourself
Stay indoors as much as possible on Sunday night and Monday morning, avoid outdoor exercise, and use an N95 mask outside. People with asthma, heart or lung disease, children and older people are most at risk.
- Delhi's air stayed close to "severe" on 9 November, the morning after Deepavali, with a city average AQI of 370.
- On Deepavali night, 20 of 59 monitoring stations were "severe"; Sonia Vihar was worst at 463.
- Several Delhi government monitoring stations stopped reporting data at the worst of the night of 8–9 November, which analysts say can make the official AQI look better than the air was.
- Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan has been in force across Delhi-NCR since 6 November.
- Older vehicles registered outside Delhi are to be kept out every winter, from 1 November to 31 January.
What’s next23 November 2026: The Supreme Court hears the case on vehicle pollution in Delhi and three neighbouring States on 23 November.
- 9 Nov 2026Delhi’s air: monitoring stations went silent at the worst of Deepavali night
- 9 Nov 2026Delhi’s air near ‘severe’ the morning after Deepavali; AQI 437 at DTU and Burari
- 8 Nov 2026Delhi air turns severe in 23 areas on Deepavali morning; worse expected after festival
- 8 Nov 2026Older vehicles from outside Delhi to be kept out every winter, 1 November to 31 January
- 8 Nov 2026Delhi’s air ‘very poor’ on Deepavali eve, 22 stations ‘severe’; CM urges green crackers
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