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Delhi’s air quality plummeted on Diwali night as fireworks filled the skies, pushing pollution levels into the ‘red zone’ across most parts of the city.

Despite a two-hour Supreme Court window allowing only green crackers from 8 to 10 p.m., celebrations continued late into the night, worsening smog conditions.

According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, 36 out of 38 monitoring stations recorded ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ air quality. Four areas — Dwarka (AQI 417), Ashok Vihar (404), Wazirpur (423), and Anand Vihar (404) — breached the ‘severe’ threshold above 400.

By 10 p.m., Delhi’s overall AQI stood at 344, classified as ‘very poor’. Morning visuals on Tuesday showed thick haze blanketing landmarks such as Akshardham Temple.

Authorities have warned that pollution levels are expected to worsen further on Tuesday and Wednesday. Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-2) remains in force across Delhi-NCR to curb emissions.

Data also indicates that transport contributed around 15.6% of Delhi’s pollution on Monday, while industrial and other sources made up 23.3%.