Post Diwali Clean-up: Air quality drops in Delhi and Noida

New Delhi: The air quality in Delhi and Noida deteriorated to the "very poor" level after Diwali celebration.

The overall air quality index stood at 306 and 356 in Delhi and Noida.

Extremely poor pollution levels were predicted in Delhi due to firecracker emissions, unfavourable weather and a significant spike in stubble burning in neighbouring states.

In Gurugram, the air quality index fell to 279 (poor) after Diwali celebrations.

On Saturday, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) had predicted that the air quality will get even worse in coming days and the AQI was expected to be around 324 due to Diwali.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana makes the situation in Delhi worse. According to Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC), straw burning has increased this year.

To curb air pollution, the Arvind Kejriwal-led government in Delhi has announced the implementation of the Odd-Even scheme from November 4 to 15.