Datanomics: Festivities choke Delhi's air despite fall in stubble burning

Historically, Delhi's air has turned hazardous near the Diwali week not just because of the burning of firecrackers, but also due to paddy stubble burning and rising vehicular emissions

With the Diwali fervour over, the poor air quality of Delhi is once again in the headlines, as the Air Quality Index (AQI) in 36 of the city’s 38 monitoring stations has gone into the red zone (indicating ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ air quality).

   

Earlier, the Supreme Court had allowed the sale and burning of green crackers during specific time periods.

   

Historically, Delhi's air has turned hazardous near the Diwali week not just because of firecrackers, but also due to paddy stubble burning and surging vehicular emissions.

   

On expected lines, the AQI level of Delhi's air post-Diwali is worse than what it was before Diwali.

      

Barring the Covid-hit period in 2020, the three-day average AQI level after Diwali has exceeded the three-day average AQI level before Diwali in recent years.

   

The biggest difference between the two was seen in 2021 with an increase of nearly 48 per cent in the post-Diwali three-day period. In 2024, the increase was just 18 per cent. 

     

As of October 20, stubble burning cases in different states of North India have dropped drastically from 3,485 in 2024 to 1,461 in 2025, a decline of 58 per cent. 

   

The average contribution of stubble burning in elevated Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 level in Delhi's air was 10.6 per cent in 2024.

     

In other metro cities, the AQI has largely remained within safe limits. In 2024, Kolkata and Mumbai had worse AQI numbers post-Diwali compared to Chennai and Bengaluru. The numbers for Mumbai have worsened in 2025.