India, Nov. 8 -- Delhi woke up on Diwali morning to a thick blanket of toxic haze, as firecrackers set off a day before the festival pushed the city's air quality to the brink of the 'severe' category, with the air quality index (AQI) at 383.

Twenty-four of the 54 monitoring stations across the city recorded "severe" air quality while the remaining stations stood in the "very poor" category", PTI reported. Jahangirpuri recorded the highest AQI at 450, followed by RK Puram at 448, according to the Sameer app.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.

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