Air pollution in the national capital which is already high, worsened after Dusshera due to the burning of fire crackers and burning of effigies of the mythological demon king Ravana.

On Monday morning i.e the next day after Dusshera, the air quality index in Anand Vihar area was 399, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The air quality index in ITO was 341 while the index value at Greater Noida’s Knowledge Park-V station was 418 (severe category). Gurugram air quality index remained in the “poor” category.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 is considered “severe”.

The concentration of pollutants almost doubled at five monitoring stations after 6 pm on the day of Dusshera, according to media.

Patparganj, India Gate, Dwarka, Najafgarh and Mundka were the five monitoring stations which recorded a sudden spike in particulate matter of 2.5 and 10 micrometres (PM2.5, PM10) — fine particles which are emitted from combustion activities, including burning of firecrackers.

Environmentalists have also warned that Diwali in mid-November could be a lot worse, as people light many more firecrackers for the festival of lights.

Delhi’s air pollution typically worsens during the winter months from October to December. Earlier this month, Delhi Pollution Control Committee had banned the use of electricity generator sets of all capacities – whether running on diesel, petrol or kerosene – in order to curb the pollution.

Various other measures have also been launched by the Delhi government to curb air pollution. The centre has also taken a holistic view of the issue of air pollution in Delhi NCR, which also includes pollution due to stubble burning, and it intends to bring out legislation in next three to four days to tackle this issue.