World · South & Central Asia · 11 hrs ago
Chennai air quality reaches ‘poor’ after Deepavali fireworks
Chennai’s air quality reached the ‘poor’ category on the morning after Deepavali, with an official city AQI of 213 on November 9.
Heavy firecracker use the previous night filled parts of the city with smoke and reduced visibility.
Manali Village recorded the highest reading, at 296, among the seven monitoring stations reporting data; two other stations were not operational.
The official average at 10 p.m.
on Sunday was 178, in the ‘moderate’ category, though a private sensor recorded much higher pollution during peak celebrations.
Firecracker smoke drove the sharp rise in pollution, while residents also raised concerns about restricted celebration hours and poor enforcement.
Pollution could remain elevated for the next few days as northerly winds persist, but a shift to easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal is expected to help clear the air.
Chennai’s air quality reached the ‘poor’ category on the morning after Deepavali, with a city AQI of 213.
Firecracker smoke after celebrations on Sunday night caused dense smoke and reduced visibility in several parts of the city.
Manali Village recorded the highest station AQI at 296 as of 9 a.m. on November 9.
Only seven of Chennai’s nine air quality monitoring stations were relaying data.
A weather blogger said his home sensor recorded an AQI of around 1,000 for nearly four hours during peak celebrations.
- Who
- Chennai residents were affected; the Central Pollution Control Board and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board reported air quality readings.
- What
- The city’s AQI reached 213, in the ‘poor’ category, after Deepavali fireworks.
- When
- The morning of November 9, 2026, after fireworks on Sunday night, November 8.
- Where
- Chennai, India.
- Why
- Continuous firecracker bursting produced smoke and reduced visibility; the article says the smoke contributed to deteriorating air quality.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Firecracker bursting produced dense smoke and reduced visibility in several parts of Chennai.
The seven operational monitoring stations recorded a calculated average AQI of 178.
Station data showed Manali Village had the highest AQI, at 296.
Chennai’s AQI was 213, in the ‘poor’ category, according to the CPCB Sameer app.
- City AQI
- 213, ‘poor’ category, on the morning of November 9
- Highest station reading
- Manali Village, 296, as of 9 a.m. on November 9
- Second-highest station reading
- Arumbakkam, 265
- Operational monitoring stations
- 7 of 9
- Sunday night average AQI
- 178 across seven stations at 10 p.m.
What people are saying
The concentrated bursting of crackers, partially due to the rule and trying to burst between spells of rain, have made it worse.
The window for bursting crackers was too short and too early, especially since there are rituals associated with Diwali for many families.
Visibility was so poor at one point that residents could barely see one another.