As Delhi chokes on five-year pollution high, CM claims ‘less pollution this Diwali’
New Delhi: Delhi’s air turned toxic after Diwali, with pollution levels surging to their highest in five years even as chief minister Rekha Gupta claimed that the city’s air quality had actually “improved” compared to last year.
According to an analysis of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, the average PM2.5 concentration in Delhi touched 488 micrograms per cubic metre in the 24 hours after Diwali, more than three times the pre-festival level of 156.6 micrograms per cubic metre. The reading marked the most polluted post-Diwali period since 2021.
The CPCB data showed that PM2.5 levels spiked every year after the festival, but 2025 recorded the sharpest jump. From 163.1 to 454.5 in 2021, 129.3 to 168 in 2022, 92.9 to 319.7 in 2023 and 204 to 220 in 2024.
Yet, in sharp contrast to the data, chief minister Rekha Gupta said on Wednesday that pollution was “less this year” despite widespread cracker-bursting. “The pre- and post-Diwali gap in AQI this year is smaller compared to last year, even though firecrackers were allowed,” she claimed at a press conference.
Her remark came even as monitoring stations recorded severe air quality across Delhi on Diwali night, with particulate matter (PM2.5) peaking at 675 at several locations.
Gupta said her government was acting with “greater alertness” to combat pollution and would take up the issue of stubble burning with Punjab authorities. “I will meet a Punjab minister to raise Delhi’s concerns over crop residue burning,” she said.
Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa also asserted that the AQI rose “only slightly” from 341 to 356 after Diwali. He alleged that Punjab farmers were being “forced” to burn paddy straw, insinuating a “ploy” by the Aam Aadmi Party-led government there to worsen Delhi’s air.
However, experts and independent researchers contradicted the government’s claims. A study by Climate Trends, a research and advisory group, attributed the post-Diwali surge mainly to local firecracker emissions, stagnant wind speeds below one metre per second and temperature inversion that trapped pollutants near the surface.
“The so-called green firecrackers still contributed significantly to particulate buildup,” said SK Dhaka, professor at Rajdhani College, University of Delhi. He called for stricter quality checks on such products.
Aarti Khosla, founder and director of Climate Trends, expressed disappointment that people continued to burst crackers despite years of awareness campaigns. “It is disheartening that after witnessing the harmful effects of firecrackers year after year, we still repeat the same mistake,” she said.
Research lead Palak Balyan added that this year’s Diwali was “one of the most polluted in recent years,” noting that PM2.5 levels had tripled from before to after the festival. “Allowing firecrackers during this season is unsustainable for NCR’s already critical air quality,” she said.
Doctors have repeatedly warned that breathing Delhi’s air after Diwali is equivalent to smoking 10 cigarettes a day, with prolonged exposure linked to asthma, bronchitis and heart disease.
(with agency inputs)
