Why Delhi's key air quality stations had blackout on Diwali
What's the story
On Diwali night, the air quality in many parts of Delhi-NCR deteriorated significantly, with areas like RK Puram and Nehru Nagar recording alarming pollution levels. Despite Supreme Court guidelines to control firecracker use, pollution levels soared. However, real-time data from key monitoring stations suddenly went offline for hours. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee's website stopped updating data from several major stations, including RK Puram and Nehru Nagar.
Data gap
Data blackout raises concerns
The sudden data blackout has raised questions about the transparency and preparedness of pollution control agencies.
A monitoring station at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) recorded a spike in PM2.5 levels, further highlighting the lack of timely data from other stations.
The JNU station recorded PM2.5 levels of 161 micrograms per cubic meter till 8:00pm which shot up to 786 by 11:00pm on Diwali night.
Data discrepancy
Congress leader Maken highlights discrepancies
Senior Congress leader Ajay Maken also raised concerns about the missing PM2.5 data at 25 of Delhi's 39 air quality monitoring stations on Diwali night.
He pointed out that pollution levels were recorded at 38.4 times the World Health Organization's limit at nine stations with available data.
Maken alleged discrepancies in air pollution monitoring, claiming no readings were recorded between 2:00am and 3:00am on November 8-9.
Pollution analysis
PM2.5 levels spike compared to last year
Maken's analysis showed an increase in PM2.5 levels compared to last year. He noted that the average concentration at 6:00pm was 141g/m3, a 31.5% increase from last year.
The AQI around Ghazipur was 'severe' at 418, while Akshardham recorded a 'very poor' AQI of 337 on Monday morning after Diwali celebrations.