Smog seen over the Yamuna river on October 19, 2025, as air quality deteriorates across Delhi-NCR.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta appealed to Delhi residents to celebrate Deepavali responsibly by bursting only certified green crackers as the Capital’s air quality index (AQI) crossed 300 on Sunday (October 19, 2025), prompting the enforcement of Stage 2 of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).
The city’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 296 at 4 p.m. and rose to 302 by 7 p.m., according to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). “The AQI of Delhi has shown an increasing trend since morning… recorded as 296 at 4:00 p.m. and 302 at 7:00 p.m.,” the CAQM said, warning of further deterioration in the coming days.
The Air Quality Early Warning System under the Ministry of Earth Sciences warned that with wind speeds expected to stay below 10 kmph on Deepavali, conditions would remain highly unfavourable for the dispersion of pollutants. “The air quality is very likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category on Monday and may reach the ‘severe’ category in the following two days if emissions from firecrackers increase,” the bulletin said.
Taking to X, Ms. Gupta wrote, “After years, the festival of Deepavali in Delhi will once again be celebrated in all its colours and lights. We appeal to everyone to use only certified green firecrackers during this Deepavali and to strictly follow the prescribed guidelines.”
Delhi Congress Chief Devender Yadav, however, accused the government of failing to curb pollution. “The air in Delhi has become toxic on the eve of Deepavali. People are set to face serious health hazards as banned, polluting crackers – smuggled from BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh and Haryana – are being sold freely across the city,” he said. Mr. Yadav added that the Chief Minister had “failed to ensure the availability of green crackers permitted under strict Supreme Court conditions, and to enforce fixed bursting timings”.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Gupta visited Vasudev Ghat on the banks of the Yamuna to inspect preparations for the upcoming Chhath Mahaparv. She said her government was determined to make this year’s celebration “grander, safer, and more organised than ever before”. “Residents will experience a transformed Delhi during Chhath Puja, a confluence of faith, culture, and cleanliness,” the CM said.
Accompanying her, Delhi’s Minister for Development and Tourism, Kapil Mishra, claimed the Yamuna had become “clearer than before, with no trace of foam or pollution”.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), however, dismissed these claims as “blatant lies meant to mislead the public”. AAP Delhi state president Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “Spraying chemicals only lessens the froth, not the contamination. The CM should do some reading before making such claims.”
Mr. Bharadwaj also took a dig at the BJP, recalling that the same chemical now being sprayed to suppress foam was once called “poison” by BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh. “If CM Rekha Gupta insists the Yamuna is clean, she should drink a litre of its water and bring her Minister Parvesh Singh along too. I will accept that it has truly been cleaned,” he said.
Published – October 19, 2025 11:24 pm IST
