Thick smog blankets Delhi on Deepavali night, AQI at 20 stations ‘severe’

The city’s air quality remained in the very poor category, with the instantaneous Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 371 at 7 p.m., close to the severe threshold. File | Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

A smoky haze hung over Delhi on Deepavali night, blurring streetlights and blanketing neighbourhoods as celebrations intensified across the capital, pushing air quality at 20 monitoring stations into the ‘severe’ category, with the overall Air Quality Index standing at 371 at 10 p.m..

The haze grew denser as the evening progressed, with smoke from firecrackers hanging over roads and residential neighbourhoods. The smell of burnt crackers lingered in the air, while visibility dropped in several parts of the capital and residents reported difficulty breathing.

Despite restrictions on bursting firecrackers, several parts of Delhi continued to witness their use on Sunday evening (November 8, 2026), with reports of fireworks emerging from areas, including Pitampura, Burari, Mayur Vihar and parts of Lutyens’ Delhi.

Ahead of Deepavali, the Delhi government had appealed to people to comply with the Supreme Court’s directions on sale and use of green firecrackers.