As Delhiites burst firecrackers well past the 10 p.m. deadline set by the Supreme Court for Deepavali night, air pollution shot up to 100 times World Health Organisation (WHO) limits, but fell quickly, shows official data.
The relatively quicker fall was due to higher wind speed and temperature, according to experts.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) data on air pollution for the intervening night between Monday and Tuesday had several missing data points. This led to activists questioning the authenticity of the data.
Hourly data of PM2.5 (a chief pollutant) for many of the stations were missing when the pollution was at its peak last night between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., as per DPCC’s website.
“PM2.5 crossed 1,000 µg/m³ in Delhi last night, yet official air pollution data went missing at peak hours. If we lose data on the worst nights, how can CPCB ensure accurate pollution reporting?” said Bhavreen Kandhari, an environmental activist.
