India, Nov. 9 -- Delhi's air quality reached the severe category at 20 of its 59 monitoring stations on Diwali night, November 8, 2026, despite restrictions on firecracker use imposed by the Supreme Court.

An analysis of air quality data from 2017 to 2025 also shows that pollution levels worsened across Delhi-NCR on the day after Diwali in eight of the nine years examined, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing pollution control measures.

According to real-time data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi's overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 370 at 9 pm on November 8 and rose to 373 by 11 pm, remaining in the 'very poor' category. PM2.5, fine particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs, ...