Delhi air pollution: Several monitoring stations did not report AQI readings on Diwali night

More than 20 of Delhi’s 59 air quality monitoring stations did not report readings on the night of the Hindu festival of Diwali, PTI quoted an analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air as saying on Monday.

According to the non-profit think tank, the number of stations not reporting readings rose between midnight and 2 am, when pollution levels typically peak.

At 7 pm on Sunday, only one station was not reporting data. The number rose to seven by 10 pm and 23 by 11 pm. By midnight, 29 stations had stopped reporting readings.

At 1 am on Monday, 36 stations were not reporting data. At 2 am, 35 stations were still blank.

The analysis came as Delhi’s air quality worsened a day after Diwali celebrations. At 7.05 am, the average Air Quality Index in the national capital was 368, in the “very poor” category, according to the Sameer application, which provides hourly updates from the Central Pollution Control Board. At 7.05 pm, the average AQI was 333, also in the “very poor” category.

However, private air quality monitors, which calculate the data differently, recorded an average AQI of 895 in Delhi at 7.30 am, which is categorised as “hazardous”.

In some parts of the city, such as southern Delhi’s Safdarjung Development Area...

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