Pollution

The police, however, received just 940 complaints, registered a mere 315 cases, and arrested only 166 people from across the city on Sunday night, when people across the city reported hearing firecrackers well into the early hours of the next day.

“We were acting only in cases where we were receiving complaints, rather than acting on a suo motu basis. In several cases, by the time we reached the spot, we could not identify the violators,” a senior police officer said, asking not to be named.

According to an analysis of data from government-deployed air quality monitoring stations across the city, the average hourly PM2.5 concentration was the lowest at 4pm on Sunday but started rising steadily after sunset, with a significant spike coming around 9pm when it jumped from 195 μg/m3 to 335 μg/m3.

The hourly average peaked at midnight, when the concentration topped out at 581.8 μg/m3. During this time, according to figures released by the government, the peak concentration was recorded at 1,070 μg/m3.

Slightly larger PM10 particles rose in tandem, going from 185µg/m3 around 5pm to around 1,391 µg/m3 by midnight — roughly 14 times the safe level.

On Monday, the AQI in Delhi was 368, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) 4 pm bulletin. It had risen to 399 by 11pm. The figure was 372 for Gurugram and 397 in Noida.

Data analysed by HT also showed that pollution was much higher in Delhi’s residential neighbourhoods in comparison to industrial areas. A few colonies such as Aya Nagar, Ashok Vihar and Dilshad Garden registered levels that were at least 14-15 times higher than the safe limit.

The Delhi government, which made significant attempts to encourage people to refrain from banned crackers, said that the situation was better than previous years.

“Delhi has come through again. While I agree pollution is still high and needs to be further brought down, the efforts by Delhiites in last few years has led to significant reduction,” said Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose administration organised a laser-light show in Connaught Place to mark Diwali celebrations without fireworks.

“If the people are resolute, we can make the impossible possible,” he said, referring to the fight against pollution.

Other indicators too suggested firecracker use was lower this year. Four major government hospitals designated for treating severe burn injuries had nearly 50% fewer burn-related hospital admissions on Sunday.

Experts said weather conditions may have helped disperse pollution this year quicker than it had last year. “The dispersion of pollutants was as fast as the build-up. This is because of the stronger winds this time com