Delhi air turns ‘very poor’ post Diwali, BJP and AAP set off political fireworks

At a press conference, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa showed pictures and videos of people with their faces covered, burning paddy stubble.

“I want to show you how the Aam Aadmi Party [which rules Punjab] is deliberately forcing farmers to burn stubble in Punjab by covering their faces… Farmers have been forced to burn stubble by covering their faces, so that this can impact Delhi,” Sirsa said.

“Diwali is not a BJP festival; it’s a Sanatan Hindu festival. They (AAP) are our opposition, so they can abuse us, but why insult a sacred tradition? The same party that failed for 10 years [while ruling Delhi] is now blaming Diwali for pollution, a false narrative to appease a section of voters…,” Sirsa said.

The minister said AAP was speaking the language of “those who admire Aurangzeb and Akbar, who even put up the picture of Tipu Sultan in the Vidhan Sabha… Arvind Khan, Arvind Kejriwal, is trying to hide his failures by defaming a festival sacred to millions,” Sirsa said.

Responding to Sirsa, AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said: “When asked about missing pollution data in a press conference, a BJP minister remained evasive. As for Punjab Sikh farmers, I can say they will never conspire to defame Diwali. Accusing them is shameful.

“Sikh Gurus gave lives for Hindus, accusing them is a sin. Running the government is a responsibility; by lying about air pollution and Yamuna pollution, you are playing with the lives of people and children.”

Farm fires in Punjab have been at an all-time low this year — the state has recorded only 353 instances of stubble-burning between September 15 and October 20. This figure was 1,445 for the same period last year, and hit an all-time high of 9,399 in 2020, the year in which the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) started maintaining farm fire data.

Overall, 1,461 fire incidents have been recorded in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi so far. Uttar Pradesh has seen 557 incidents (38%), the most so far. Madhya Pradesh has reported 285 incidents (20%), and Rajasthan 212 (15%). All these states are ruled by the BJP.

Experts have noted that floods and heavy rain in Northwest India delayed the paddy harvest in Punjab this year. This means that farm fires, too, have been delayed, as the crop is yet to be harvested in many areas.

Also Read | Post-Diwali AQI shoots up in four Metro cities, Bengaluru records ‘good’ air quality

An analysis of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 trends over the years carried out by research and advisory group Climate Trends shows that post-Diwali pollutant levels this year were the highest in five years.

The Supreme Court allowed ‘green’ crackers this year, with a direction to the district administration and police to ensure that fireworks were restricted only to two time slots – 6 am to 7 am and 8 pm to 10 on Chhoti Diwali (Sunday) and Diwali (Monday). But this direction was flouted widely, with violations being reported from across NCR.

Real time data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) showed PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations breached safe limits by 15 to 18 times at several stations.

Anand Vihar, Dwarka Sector 8, Patparganj, and Jahangirpuri recorded peaks above 1,400 to 1,800 µg/m³, which were 15-20 times higher than the permissible standards.

Hourly data showed sharper night-time spikes, with several stations recording PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations above 1,500 µg/m³, unlike last year when the highest spike was around 1525µg/m³, at Nehru Nagar.

At several locations, data were missing for several hours between 11 pm and 5 am, suggesting possible instrument saturation due to extremely high particulate concentrations. DPCC officials did not respond to questions on the missing data.

In a social media post, Sirsa claimed that the rise in AQI this year was less than in previous years. “On the day of Diwali in 2023, the AQI was 218, and the next morning it rose to 301, meaning an increase of 83 points. On the day of Diwali in 2024, the AQI was 328, and the next day it was 360, meaning a difference of 32 points, and that too despite the firecracker ban and all sorts of restrictions. But in 2025, when there was no ban on firecrackers, people celebrated Diwali with their faith and traditions, also lit firecrackers, then from 345 on the day of Diwali, it reached 356 the next day (Tuesday morning), meaning just an increase of 11 points,” he posted on X.

Delhi Minister Ashish Sood acknowledged that the SC’s directions had been violated.

“Firecrackers alone are not responsible for pollution in Delhi. But I do believe that people should have followed the Supreme Court’s order to burst crackers only till 10 pm… If we look at data, the AQI in Anand Vihar was higher than that in Shahdara. Delhi has no weather or climate of its own; it is also dependent on activities in neighbouring states. I, however, appeal to the people of Delhi to follow court guidelines and celebrate festivals and help us to increase Delhi’s green cover and cleanliness so that Delhi does not face this issue again,” Sood told reporters.