As the nation celebrates Diwali, a thick blanket of smoke has engulfed the Delhi-NCR region. This blanket of smoke has triggered low-visibility conditions in various regions, raising fresh concerns over air quality levels. Over the past couple of days, conversation in Delhi has centred largely around the AQI and the government’s policies to curb it.

In the run-up to Diwali, the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) enforced Stage 3 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR. The commission, in its order, stated that the action was taken as a “pre-emptive” measure as predictions of the air quality dipping emerged ahead of the festival.

As per data provided by the CPCB on the Sameer app, the overall AQI of Delhi as of 11:05 PM on November 8, 2026, stood at 373 in the “very poor” category. The average AQI of Noida, at the same time, was recorded at 319 in the “very poor” category, while the AQI at Ghaziabad, Gurugram, and Faridabad stood at 360, 280, and 297, respectively. Several areas in the national capital like Alipur, Bawana, Burari, Chandni Chowk, Mundka, Punjabi Bagh, Rohini, and Vivek Vihar, among others, recorded an AQI above 400 in the “severe” category.

This data comes as notifications by the Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi predicted that air quality is likely to remain in the ‘severe’ category from November 9 for a few days.

As per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI between 0 and 50 is classified as ‘good’, 51 and 100 as ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 as ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 as ‘poor’, 301 and 400 as ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 as ‘severe’. Delhi’s air is expected to plunge into the ‘severe’ category post Diwali.