According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, Delhi/NCR observed the cleanest air quality post-Diwali on Tuesday since the CPCB began tracking the Air Quality Index (AQI) in 2015. This trend was also seen in the NCR cities of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad.
Even though the average Air Quality Index (AQI) was circling around the range of the “very bad” category on Diwali and a day before the holiday, the Delhi/NCR saw the cleanest post-Diwali morning this year since 2016.
According to the statistics, Gurugram’s average air quality index for Tuesday was 292 (bad), which is an improvement from Monday’s score of 322 (very poor).
This is in stark contrast to previous years’ post-Diwali AQI, which were 425 (severe) on November 15, 2020, 372 (very poor) on October 28, 2019, 389 (very poor) on November 8, 2018, 397 (very poor) on October 20, 2017, and 298 (poor) on October 31, 2016. Last year’s post-Diwali AQI on November 5 was recorded at 472 (severe). 2015 saw no AQI information for Gurugram on the CPCB website.
see also – Delhi Diwali Melas
This Diwali, the Delhi government issued a complete prohibition on the sale, purchase, and distribution of firecrackers. While many claimed that the change was to blame for the reduction in air quality this year, experts noted that better wind speed on the festival day in addition to a variety of climatic factors played a role.
Traditional firecrackers had been outlawed in Haryana as well, but green firecrackers were still permitted. Administration and law enforcement officers made it clear that the only complaints they had were about noise. The usage of conventional firecrackers elicited no complaints, they continued.
Experts credited two factors—faster southerly breezes and fewer stubble fires because of a rain-delayed harvest—as the cause of the cleaner post-Diwali air this year. Additionally, unlike the previous year, this year’s Diwali did not fall during the height of the stubble fire season.
They said quicker winds made contaminants easier to disperse, and Tuesday’s sunny and mild weather also helped.
