Chennai’s air quality deteriorates to ‘poor’ the morning after Deepavali

After a rain-interrupted start to Deepavali, firecracker bursting picked up sharply across Chennai on Sunday evening, leaving the entire city shrouded in smoke by night.

As the sun rose over a smoke-filled Chennai on Monday, the city’s average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 213, placing it in the ‘Poor’ category at 9 a.m., according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Post-Deepavali smog envelopes cities as air quality plummets to ‘severe’ | In pictures

A thick layer of toxic haze engulfs Delhi as people commute near Rashtrapati Bhavan, shrouded in thick smog during the early morning of November 9, 2026, a day after Deepavali. The city’s 24-hour average AQI was 370, in the “very poor” category, at 9 a.m.

People jog near India Gate, shrouded in thick smog, as Delhi’s AQI touched 404 in the ‘severe’ category at 4 a.m. on November 9, 2026, according to the CPCB’s live dashboard.

Burari Crossing recorded Delhi’s highest AQI on November 9, 2026, at 441, followed by Vivek Vihar at 437 and Delhi Technological University at 434. People walking near India Gate.

Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is in force across Delhi and adjoining districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, following the CAQM’s decision. A view of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, shrouded in thick smog during the early morning hours after Deepavali night.

The Supreme Court had allowed only green firecrackers in specified time windows on November 7 and 8, 2026, but the more polluting traditional crackers were also available in Delhi markets.

People commute near Rashtrapati Bhavan, shrouded in thick smog. PM2.5 refers to fine inhalable particles 2.5 micrometres or smaller, which can enter deep into the lungs and the bloodstream and cause respiratory and other health problems.

Kherwadi-Bandra East in Mumbai recorded an AQI of 264 on November 9, 2026, followed by Sewri at 226, Ghatkopar at 221 and Chembur at 216.
Byculla recorded an AQI of 193, Mindspace-Malad West 191, Kandivali West 187 and Worli 148 in Mumbai on November 9. Kurla was the lowest at 96.

Chennai’s AQI slipped to the ‘poor’ category at 213 on the morning of November 9, 2026, according to the CPCB’s Sameer app.

A private sensor at the Chennai home of weather blogger K. Srikanth recorded an AQI of around 1,000 for nearly four hours between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on November 8, 2026. Chennai residents said smoke from firecrackers lingered in cramped residential communities, with visibility so poor at one point that people could barely see one another.

As of 9 a.m. on November 9, 2026, Manali Village recorded Chennai’s highest AQI at 296, followed by Arumbakkam at 265, Kodungaiyur at 215, Royapuram at 184 and Velachery Residential Area at 142.

Hyderabad woke up to a grey, smoggy morning on November 9, 2026, after Deepavali celebrations that went on until 3 a.m. in localities such as Banjara Hills, Panjagutta, S.R. Nagar, Ameerpet and Somajiguda.

Smog shrouds the historic Golconda Fort. PM2.5 in Hyderabad reached 392 μg/m³ at 9.30 p.m. on November 8, 2026, with the city’s AQI averaging 509.
Ravi Colony near Masjid Banda in Hyderabad logged an AQI of 995 on November 8, 2026, and Serilingampally recorded 666 at 11.30 p.m., when the city average was 442.

Telangana Pollution Control Board monitors in Hyderabad were out of order as pollution rose on November 8, 2026, with the University of Hyderabad station offline by 10 p.m. The figures come from publicly available monitors. Hyderabad’s AQI was still 178 on November 9, morning, with PM10 at 113 μg/m³.

A vendor walks amid a thick layer of smog, near Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow (251), Amritsar (242), Jodhpur (234), Ahmedabad (230), Dehradun (228), Jaipur and Udaipur (223 each), Surat (207), Nagpur (239), Pune (221) and Bhopal (205) also recorded ‘poor’ air quality on November 9, 2026.

1/3

A 24-hour ambient air quality survey conducted by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) from 6 a.m. on November 8 to 6 a.m. on November 9 found that Valasaravakkam recorded the highest AQI in the State at 343, falling in the ‘Very Poor’ category for the fourth consecutive year. The lowest reading was recorded at Thiruvottiyur at 183, in the ‘Moderate’ category.

Also Read: Chennai sees dozens of cracker-related eye injuries; doctors call for caution

In Chennai, five of the seven locations covered by the TNPCB survey recorded AQI levels above 250. Apart from Valasaravakkam, Nungambakkam recorded 332, Sowcarpet 311, T. Nagar 306, and Triplicane 267. Besant Nagar recorded 230, while Thiruvottiyur recorded 183.

The TNPCB conducted manual air quality monitoring at 39 locations and noise monitoring at 34 locations across Tamil Nadu from November 1 to 9, following directions issued by the Supreme Court to monitor air quality and noise levels for 15 days, beginning seven days before Deepavali and ending seven days after the festival.

Pollution levels progressively rise in T.N.

The TNPCB’s comparative analysis of 39 monitoring locations across 17 districts in the State showed a continued rise in average AQI levels over the past three Deepavali periods. The average AQI increased from 143.46 in 2024 to 161.69 in 2025 and 168.97 in 2026, an increase of approximately 4.5% over the previous year.

Of the 39 locations, 25 recorded an increase in AQI levels in 2026 compared to 2025, while 14 recorded a decline.

In Chennai, Valasaravakkam’s AQI rose from 287 in 2024 to 332 in 2025, and 343 in 2026. Nungambakkam also recorded a consistent increase, from 230 in 2024 to 326 in 2025, and 332 in 2026. At Sowcarpet, the AQI increased from 193 in 2024 to 260 in 2025, and 311 in 2026. T. Nagar recorded a rise from 203 in 2024 to 273 in 2025, and 306 in 2026.

Noise levels also registered an increase both on the day before and on Deepavali. On Deepavali day, the average noise level increased from 75.70 dB(A) in 2025 to 76.73 dB(A) in 2026, an increase of 1.03 dB(A).

In Chennai, Valasaravakkam recorded the highest noise level at 88.6 dB(A), followed by Sowcarpet at 86.2 dB(A). Thiruvottiyur recorded the lowest at 77.4 dB(A). The TNPCB attributed the increase in air and noise pollution to firecracker bursting and variations in meteorological conditions, including wind speed, wind direction, and atmospheric stability. 

Residents also flagged concerns over the timing and enforcement of restrictions on firecracker bursting.

Aruna, a resident of Valasaravakkam, said, “The window for bursting crackers was too short and too early, especially since there are rituals associated with Diwali for many families. The timings should have been announced well in advance, and the practicality of the time window should have been considered. A slot between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. would have been more convenient, as families need time to get ready. Women are usually occupied with cooking and other preparations and can only join in after 10 a.m. There was also no proper supervision or enforcement of the prescribed timings,” she said.

Vaishnavi, another resident, said the situation was worse in residential communities because of the cramped spaces, which prevented smoke from dispersing. Visibility was so poor at one point that residents could barely see one another. 

She suggested that the government issue advance advisories to residential communities on the restricted hours for bursting crackers, noting that the volume of crackers burst between 7.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. on Sunday had resulted in overwhelming levels of smoke and waste.

Published – November 09, 2026 10:27 am IST