"Post-Diwali AQI In Delhi Best In 7 Years, But...": Air Quality Expert

The post-Diwali air quality in Delhi - at 12.30 pm the AQI was 305 - is better than it has been in the past six-seven years but it remains in the "very poor" category, a senior member of the government's Commission for Air Quality Management told NDTV Monday. CAQM Member-Secretary Arvind Nautiyal said average AQI, or air quality index, readings for the day before, during, and morning after Diwali were around 220, and that this jumped to 300+ this morning. He attributed this to firecrackers; on Sunday tens of thousands across Delhi and the National Capital Region flouted Supreme Court orders on the bursting of crackers, specifically those containing polluting substances.