Diwali farm fires and fireworks push Delhi AQI to 483
India
On Diwali, Punjab saw 1,152 farm fires, the most on this festival in three years, which sent Delhi's air quality plummeting to a severe air quality index, or AQI, of 483.
Fireworks only made things worse, with at least 15 monitoring stations in the city recording extreme pollution.
Even with thousands of site checks and hefty fines, stubble burning in Punjab hit 4,459 incidents this season.
Experts urge stronger Delhi pollution rules
Bad weather is trapping all that smoke over Delhi, and finger-pointing between politicians isn't helping.
Experts say it's time for stronger rules so we can actually tackle these yearly pollution spikes because breathing clean air shouldn't just be a wish for next Diwali.