Indian cities dominate world’s most-polluted 150 on Diwali evening; 6 cross AQI 1000
Chennai among 6 cities that record AQI of 1000+ as live AQI rankings show hazardous air across the country
As Diwali celebrations reached their peak across India, live air quality data on AQI.in painted a dramatically bleak picture of toxic pollution choking urban regions nationwide.
At 9 pm, six cities had an AQI of more than 1,000. Among the top were Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan with a hazardous 1131 AQI, Chengalpattu and Chennai in Tamil Nadu with 1122 and 1119, respectively, Odisha's Bhubaneswar with 1091, Faridkot in Punjab with 1058, and Puducherry with 1057.
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The real-time index revealed an overwhelming dominance of Indian urban centres among global pollution hotspots. The top 150 most polluted cities were in India, with a few exceptions like Pakistan's Lahore, and a handful of cities in Nepal. Chennai hogged the No. 1 position for most of the late evening as hazardous air quality engulfed cities across the country.
Contrary to popular belief, the worst pollution spikes were not confined to the National Capital Region. Delhi, which usually dominates such lists, did not make the top 25 at 8.30 pm despite a “hazardous” reading. At 9.13 pm, New Delhi stood at 20th with an AQI of 721. Ghaziabad (649), Noida (508) and Gurgaon (462) also stayed deep in the hazardous band but not anywhere among the top.
Also read: Delhi AQI hits 483 on Diwali as several areas record severe pollution
The severe spike comes even as emergency regulatory frameworks remain active. In response to deteriorating atmospheric conditions, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) invoked Stage III of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR on Friday.
GRAP operates as a four-stage emergency protocol in tandem with the CPCB, state authorities, and forecasting bodies like the IMD and IITM. The mechanism triggers restrictive measures preemptively before regional AQI shifts into the 'severe' classification.
However, tonight’s data shows that festival-related emissions, unfavourable weather conditions, and seasonal patterns continue to push air quality well beyond safe thresholds nationwide.