Every year, India lights up for Diwali — a celebration of triumph, warmth, and unity. Yet behind the glow lies a darker truth: the festival now marks one of the most predictable spikes in air pollution across the subcontinent.
This year was no exception. As lamps flickered and skies exploded in color, the country’s air monitors recorded a sharp rise in fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅ and PM₁₀). The question lingers — can India celebrate without suffocating?
India Under a Veil of Smoke
Across India, more than 100 cities recorded “Poor” or worse air quality on October 21 — turning the Festival of Lights into a festival of haze (CPCB, 2025).
Before Diwali, air in most cities was still breathable. Mumbai (AQI 88) and Chennai (50) enjoyed “Satisfactory” air, while Delhi sat at 254 (Poor). But within four days, PM₂.₅ levels tripled, suffocating the skies across much of northern India.
“The numbers are predictable — only our response isn’t.” — CPCB Analyst, 2025
Thematic Maps of India showing changing AQI levels before and after Diwali
A Tale of Two Indias: Clear Coasts, Choking Plains
The geography of pollution tells its own story.
While Delhi-NCR, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh battled AQI levels between 300–420, coastal cities recovered swiftly. Mumbai dropped to 54 (Satisfactory) and Chennai to 71, aided by sea winds that swept away the smoke (IMD, 2025).
In Punjab, Ludhiana leapt from 111 to 271, and Amritsar from 52 to 224 — proof that even smaller cities aren’t immune. Meanwhile, the Indo-Gangetic Plain remained the thick, unmoving heart of India’s annual haze.
AQI Leap in major Cities of North between 17th to 24th October
Delhi: The City That Knows, Yet Chokes
If India’s air crisis has a capital, it is Delhi. Despite years of warnings, court bans, and awareness drives, the city’s AQI jumped from 254 to 351 between 17 and 21 October. Gurugram, Noida, and Ghaziabad weren’t far behind, with nearby Jind and Dharuhera breaching the “Severe” range (CPCB, 2025).
Why focus on Delhi? Because it represents the paradox of awareness without action — a city that understands pollution better than any other, yet relives the same choking dawn every Diwali.
Meteorologists blame temperature inversion; planners point to fireworks and stubble burning. Meanwhile, hospitals report a 30% surge in asthma and bronchitis cases (Hindustan Times, 2025).
What Delhi’s Government Is Doing – and What Still Needs to Be Done
Delhi has not been silent. The government has rolled out a series of measures to combat the recurring smog season:
Complete Firecracker Ban: The Delhi Pollution Control Committee imposed a total ban on the manufacturing, sale, and bursting of all firecrackers until January 1, 2025. Enforcement teams from the Police and Revenue Department were mobilised; thousands of kilograms of illegal crackers were seized.
Winter Action Plan: This year’s plan covers 21 focus points — curbing vehicular emissions, dust suppression, waste and stubble burning control, and inter-state coordination. The city has deployed anti-smog guns, mist sprinklers, and dust suppression vehicles across 13 identified pollution hotspots.
Public Awareness Campaigns: Meetings were held with resident welfare associations, markets, and temples to promote cracker-free celebrations.
Exploring ‘Green’ Alternatives: The government has also sought Supreme Court permission to allow certified green crackers, a middle ground between celebration and regulation.
Yet, despite these layers of action, Delhi’s AQI still soared past 350 on Diwali night. So, what went wrong?
Are the bans poorly enforced, or are cross-border emissions from neighbouring states undoing local efforts? Are anti-smog guns merely symbolic, while stubble smoke continues to drift in from Haryana and Punjab?
The policies exist, but the pollution persists — making Delhi a living case study in the gap between governance and ground reality.
The Invisible Enemy: What’s Really in the Air?
CPCB data reveal a familiar culprit: PM₂.₅ made up 85–90% of all pollution readings during Diwali week.
Nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide stayed within limits, but particulate matter spiked five times above India’s safety threshold of 60 µg/m³.
In contrast, southern cities like Bengaluru and Latur recorded ozone as the main pollutant — showing how India’s air quality battle isn’t uniform, but deeply regional (SAFAR, 2025).
In Delhi, visibility dropped below 800 meters, flights were delayed, and morning commuters drove through fog that wasn’t fog. (Source: Limaye et al., 2018; CPCB Bulletin, 2025). Change in AQI over October, Delhi
When Numbers Hurt: From Charts to Choked Lungs
CPCB’s AQI health scale connects those statistics to real suffering:
Poor (201–300): discomfort for most people
Very Poor (301–400): respiratory illness on prolonged exposure
Severe (401–500): serious health impacts even for the healthy
“Understanding AQI Levels and Their Health Implications”
Source: Limaye et al. (2018). IITM-SAFAR AQI descriptors and associated health messages. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health,15(12), 2677 and CPCB AQI Bulletin, (24th October, 2025)
The Way Forward: From Smoke to Sense
Experts insist this cycle isn’t inevitable.
Solutions exist — enforcing green-cracker norms, expanding public transport, ensuring early stubble control, and empowering local citizens to act.
Coastal cities show that cleaner celebrations are possible. Perhaps it’s time to redefine what “lighting up the night” means — not with smoke and noise, but with awareness and shared responsibility.
A celebration of light, or a call for clear skies? The choice is ours.
“A celebration of light, a call for clear skies.”
References
- Central Pollution Control Board. (2025). AQI bulletins for 17, 21, and 25 October 2025. Retrieved from cpcb
- India Today. (2025, October 23). Morning after Diwali was cleaner, felt many. But why did the AQI data differ? Retrieved from India Today
- Hindustan Times. (2025, October 25). Delhi AQI remains in the ‘poor’ to ‘severe’ category post-Diwali. Retrieved from HT
- Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). (2025). Wind and temperature reports, 20–25 October 2025.
- SAFAR-India. (2025). Pollutant analysis for NCR, October 2025.