Air quality in Chennai deteriorates to ‘poor’ on the morning after Deepavali.

The air quality in most parts of Chennai has deteriorated due to continuous fireworks display as part of Deepavali celebrations. The scene at Guindy. | Photo credit: B. Velankanni Raj

After a rain-interrupted Deepavali launch, the crackle of firecrackers rang out sharply across Chennai on Sunday night, leaving the entire city shrouded in smoke at night.

As the sun rose over smoggy Chennai on Monday, the city’s average air quality index (AQI) stood at 213, putting it in the ‘poor’ category at 9 am, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

Smog surrounds cities after Deepavali as air quality plummets | In the pictures

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

People run near India Gate, shrouded in thick smog, as Delhi AQI touched 404 in the ‘severe’ category at 4 am on November 9, 2026, according to the CPCB live panel.

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

Following the CAQM decision, the third phase of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) is in effect in Delhi and the adjoining districts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. A view of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, shrouded in thick smog during the early morning hours after the Deepavali night.

The Supreme Court allowed only green firecrackers in the specified time windows of 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 of 2.5 micrometers or smaller that can get deep into the lungs and bloodstream and cause respiratory and other health problems.

Kherwadi-Bandra East in Mumbai recorded an AQI of 264 on 9 November 2026, followed by Sewri at 226, Ghatkopar at 221 and Chembur at 216. Byculla recorded an AQI of 193, Mindspace-Malad West 191, Kandivali at Worlim West 918 on 18 November. lowest at 96.

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

A private sensor at the home of weather blogger K. Srikanth in Chennai recorded an AQI of around 1,000 for nearly four hours between 18:00 and 22:00 on 8 November 2026. Chennai residents reported that smoke from firecrackers lingered in cramped residential communities, with visibility at one point so poor that people could barely see each other.

As of 9:00 AM on 9 November 2026, Manali Village recorded the highest AQI in Chennai 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 lasted till 3 am in localities like Banjara Hills, Panjagutta, SR Nagar, Ameerpet and Somajiguda.

Smog envelops the historic fort of Golconda. PM2.5 in Hyderabad reached 392 μg/m³ at 21:30 on November 8, 2026, with the city’s AQI averaging 509. Ravi Colony near Masjid Banda, Hyderabad recorded an AQI of 995 on November 8, 2026, when the average recorded was 1666 at 30:00 Seriling. 442.

Telangana Pollution Control Board monitors in Hyderabad were down as pollution rose on 8 November 2026, with the University of Hyderabad station offline till 10:00 pm. The data comes from publicly available monitors. Hyderabad’s AQI was still 178 on the morning of 9 November, 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 29.

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A 24-hour ambient air quality survey conducted by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) from 6:00 am on November 8 to 6:00 am 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 was recorded in Thiruvottiyur at 183, in the ‘medium’ category.

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

In Chennai, five of the seven localities included in 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 Thiruvottiur recorded 230.

The TNPCB conducted manual air quality monitoring at 39 locations and noise monitoring at 34 locations across Tamil Nadu from November 1 to 9 as per Supreme Court directions to monitor air quality and noise level for 15 days starting seven days before Deepavali and ending seven days after the festival.

The level of pollution in TN is gradually increasing

A comparative analysis of 39 monitoring sites in 17 districts in the state by the TNPCB showed a continued increase in the average AQI level over the last 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% from the previous year.

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

In Chennai, Valasaravakkam’s AQI increased from 287 in 2024 to 332 in 2025 and 343 in 2026. Nungambakkam also saw a consistent increase, from 230 in 2024 to 326 in 2025, and A2QIowpet increased by 332 in 2025. 193 in 2024 to 260 in 2025 and 311 in 2026. T. Nagar saw an increase from 203 in 2024 to 273 in 2025 and 306 in 2026.

Noise levels also saw an increase both the day before and on Deepavali. On Deepavali, 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 of 88.6 dB(A), followed by Sowcarpet at 86.2 dB(A). Thiruvottiyur recorded the lowest value of 77.4 dB(A). The TNPCB attributed the increase in air and noise pollution to bursting of firecrackers and changes in meteorological conditions, including wind speed, wind direction and atmospheric stability.

Residents also flagged concerns about the timing and enforcement of firecracker restrictions.

Aruna, a resident of Valasaravakkam, said, “The window for bursting crackers was too short and too early, especially since Diwali is associated with rituals for many families. The timing should have been announced well in advance and the practicality of the time window considered. The time between 10 am and 11 am would usually be more convenient as families would need to set up and prepare other hours. Join after 10 am. It didn’t even happen to proper supervision or adherence to prescribed times,” she said.

Vaishnavi, another resident, said the situation was worse in residential communities due to cramped spaces that prevented smoke from spreading. Visibility was so poor at one point that residents could barely see each other.

She suggested that the government issue advance notices to residential communities about restricted hours for crackers, noting that the volume of crackers between 7.30pm and 8.30pm on Sundays resulted in a staggering amount of smoke and waste.

Published – November 9, 2026 10:27 AM IST