People walk past India Gate, shrouded in thick smog after firecrackers lit up the sky overnight during Diwali celebrations, in New Delhi, Monday, November 9, 2026.
Manish Swarup/AP
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Manish Swarup/AP
NEW DELHI — A thick layer of smog enveloped India’s capital Monday after firecrackers lit up New Delhi’s skies during Diwali celebrations, worsening dangerously high pollution levels and intensifying the seasonal air pollution crisis that hits the city every year.
Despite restrictions on fireworks, residents of New Delhi celebrated the Hindu festival of lights on Sunday evening with firecrackers, releasing smoke and fine particles into the atmosphere. The air quality index exceeded 350 in several districts of the capital on Monday morning, reaching the serious category and posing significant health risks.
Monitoring stations across the city recorded similarly alarming levels, while visibility deteriorated as a gray haze covered streets and high-rise buildings.
In October, India’s Supreme Court had sought to limit Diwali pollution by restricting conventional firecrackers and allowing only approved “green firecrackers” under specified conditions during three-hour windows on Saturday and Sunday. Crackers produce fewer emissions but are not pollution-free. They still release particles and other pollutants, making the city’s already dangerous air worse.
Isyad, a New Delhi resident who uses only one name, said the worsening smog was taking a toll on his health.
“Due to pollution, there is irritation in the throat and itching in the eyes,” he explained.
New Delhi and its metropolitan region, home to more than 30 million people, consistently rank among the world’s most polluted regions in winter. Pollution worsens as Diwali fireworks coincide with cooler weather and smoke from crop residue fires in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.
After harvesting rice, farmers often burn the remaining stalks to clear their fields for the next planting season. Smoke drifts toward New Delhi, adding to pollution from vehicles, industries, construction dust and other local sources.
The problem becomes particularly acute in late October and November, when cooler temperatures, weak winds and stagnant atmospheric conditions prevent pollutants from dispersing. The result is a thick haze that can linger for days over the capital and its surrounding areas.
People walk through thick smog after firecrackers lit up the sky overnight during Diwali celebrations in New Delhi, Monday, November 9, 2026.
Manish Swarup/AP
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Manish Swarup/AP
Authorities in New Delhi have implemented a range of measures to reduce pollution, including limits on construction activities and restrictions on diesel generators, while courts have imposed strict restrictions on firecrackers. But these measures have not prevented the return of serious pollution every year.
Environmentalists say long-term solutions, such as cleaner energy and stricter controls on vehicle emissions, are needed to avoid the annual crisis.
Shweta Narayan, a public health expert at the Global Alliance for Climate and Health, called the government’s response so far “knee-jerk” and “temporary.”
“A lot of interventions happen only because the government is pressured or cornered into doing something,” she said.
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