The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has released the air quality data that had gone missing on Diwali night. They show pollution well above what official records reflected. The DPCC published the delayed hourly data around 8 pm on Monday, and every one of the 125 station-hours absent from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) records read above 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre. At one location, the concentration of PM2.5 was above 3,744 micrograms per cubic metre, which is 60 times above the national average.&nbsp;The missing data paints a distressing picture of the Diwali night. Mundka recorded the highest PM2.5 concentration, 3,744 µg/m³, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University at 3,023 µg/m³ at 4 am. The NSUT West Campus station recorded 3,008 µg/m³ at 5 am. 11 of the DPCC monitoring stations recorded PM2.5 concentrations above 2,000 µg/m³.The gap surfaced after 36 of Delhi's 59 monitoring stations stopped reporting overnight into November 9, prompting the Aam Aadmi Party to allege "AQI data fraud" by the ruling BJP government. AAP MP Saurav Bharadwaj said that the pollution data was being manipulated to bring down the city's average air quality index.Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/erika-kirk-dave-chappelle-charlie-kirk-assassination-joke-1794218837769">Erika Kirk slams 'moral decay' of Dave Chappelle for joking about Charlie Kirk's assassination</a>While only one station had missing data at 7 pm on Sunday, it increased to seven by 10 pm, 23 by 11 pm, 29 by midnight and 36 at 1 am. An analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said that across 59 stations, CREA counted 227 missing hourly observations between midnight and 5 am.According to Anil Gupta, a member of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, who told NDTV that when the reading reached "999, the monitoring station stops giving a reading." He called it a technical glitch. DPCC, 2019 technical specifications mandate that continuous particulate matter analysers must have a measuring range of 0 to 1,000 µg/m³.But it doesn't explain why some stations dropped out at different levels. RK Puram's last reading was 924 µg/m. A single hard cutoff at 1,000 can't produce that, though the very next hour the reading may have crossed 1,000. There is no explanation of the mechanism or an established threshold of the system's configuration. An audit of the station firmware and the CPCB/DPCC data-validation rules could settle it. December 14, 2026, is the deadline set by the Supreme Court of India for comprehensive compliance reports and may be the first official account.

Delhi's delayed Diwali pollution data reveals PM2.5 levels above 3,744 µg/m³, raising questions over missing CPCB readings and monitoring failures.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has released the air quality data that had gone missing on Diwali night. They show pollution well above what official records reflected. The DPCC published the delayed hourly data around 8 pm on Monday, and every one of the 125 station-hours absent from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) records read above 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre. At one location, the concentration of PM2.5 was above 3,744 micrograms per cubic metre, which is 60 times above the national average. The missing data paints a distressing picture of the Diwali night. Mundka recorded the highest PM2.5 concentration, 3,744 µg/m³, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University at 3,023 µg/m³ at 4 am. The NSUT West Campus station recorded 3,008 µg/m³ at 5 am. 11 of the DPCC monitoring stations recorded PM2.5 concentrations above 2,000 µg/m³. The gap surfaced after 36 of Delhi's 59 monitoring stations stopped reporting overnight into November 9, prompting the Aam Aadmi Party to allege "AQI data fraud" by the ruling BJP government. AAP MP Saurav Bharadwaj said that the pollution data was being manipulated to bring down the city's average air quality index. Also Read: Erika Kirk slams 'moral decay' of Dave Chappelle for joking about Charlie Kirk's assassination While only one station had missing data at 7 pm on Sunday, it increased to seven by 10 pm, 23 by 11 pm, 29 by midnight and 36 at 1 am. An analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said that across 59 stations, CREA counted 227 missing hourly observations between midnight and 5 am. According to Anil Gupta, a member of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, who told NDTV that when the reading reached "999, the monitoring station stops giving a reading." He called it a technical glitch. DPCC, 2019 technical specifications mandate that continuous particulate matter analysers must have a measuring range of 0 to 1,000 µg/m³. But it doesn't explain why some stations dropped out at different levels. RK Puram's last reading was 924 µg/m. A single hard cutoff at 1,000 can't produce that, though the very next hour the reading may have crossed 1,000. There is no explanation of the mechanism or an established threshold of the system's configuration. An audit of the station firmware and the CPCB/DPCC data-validation rules could settle it. December 14, 2026, is the deadline set by the Supreme Court of India for comprehensive compliance reports and may be the first official account.

Delhi's delayed Diwali pollution data reveals PM2.5 levels above 3,744 µg/m³, raising questions over missing CPCB readings and monitoring failures.

Delhi pollution data gap: 125 missing PM2.5 readings all above 1,000 µg/m³

Diwali celebrations are over and now the concern is about the air quality in the city and its adjoining areas like Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi recorded its most polluted Diwali in five years on Sunday (Nov 8) with average Air Quality Index settling at 376. The morning after was only marginally better at 371, recorded at 10 am on Monday. However it still falls under the 'very poor' category.&nbsp;The Monday AQI was the highest for a post-Diwali day since 2021, while the Diwali-day AQI of 376 was the highest recorded on the day of the festival since 2021, when it had settled at 382.&nbsp;Of the 51 monitoring stations that recorded data, 14 were in the 'severe' category, four in the 'poor' category and the remaining 33 in the 'very poor' category.&nbsp;<h2>What are the AQI categories?</h2>&nbsp;0-50: Good51-100: Satisfactory101-200: Moderate201-300: Poor301-400: Very Poor401-500: Severe&nbsp;However, it is to be noted that Diwali does not fall on the same month every year. For instance, the celebration was on November 8 this year, on October 20 in 2025, October 31 in 2024, November 12 in 2023, October 24 in 2022 and November 4 in 2021.&nbsp;It is important to &nbsp;mention the month of Diwali as farm fire in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab is another major reason for AQI to deteriorate in Delhi. The stubble burning on farms usually begins by the end of October.&nbsp;The average AQI on Diwali in 2025 was 345, while in &nbsp;2024 and 2023 it was at 328 and &nbsp;218, respectively. In 2022 the AQI stood at 312 and 382 in 2021.&nbsp;

The morning after was only marginally better at 371, recorded at 10 am on Monday. However it still falls under the 'very poor' category.

Diwali celebrations are over and now the concern is about the air quality in the city and its adjoining areas like Noida, Gurugram and Faridabad. According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi recorded its most polluted Diwali in five years on Sunday (Nov 8) with average Air Quality Index settling at 376. The morning after was only marginally better at 371, recorded at 10 am on Monday. However it still falls under the 'very poor' category. The Monday AQI was the highest for a post-Diwali day since 2021, while the Diwali-day AQI of 376 was the highest recorded on the day of the festival since 2021, when it had settled at 382. Of the 51 monitoring stations that recorded data, 14 were in the 'severe' category, four in the 'poor' category and the remaining 33 in the 'very poor' category. What are the AQI categories? 0-50: Good 51-100: Satisfactory 101-200: Moderate 201-300: Poor 301-400: Very Poor 401-500: Severe However, it is to be noted that Diwali does not fall on the same month every year. For instance, the celebration was on November 8 this year, on October 20 in 2025, October 31 in 2024, November 12 in 2023, October 24 in 2022 and November 4 in 2021. It is important to mention the month of Diwali as farm fire in neighbouring Haryana and Punjab is another major reason for AQI to deteriorate in Delhi. The stubble burning on farms usually begins by the end of October. The average AQI on Diwali in 2025 was 345, while in 2024 and 2023 it was at 328 and 218, respectively. In 2022 the AQI stood at 312 and 382 in 2021.

The morning after was only marginally better at 371, recorded at 10 am on Monday. However it still falls under the 'very poor' category.

Delhi's 'very poor' AQI on Diwali day and day after is worst in five years

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Delhi pollution data gap: 125 missing PM2.5 readings all above 1,000 µg/m³

Delhi's 'very poor' AQI on Diwali day and day after is worst in five years