Delhi Air Reaches Severe Levels as AAP Alleges Data Manipulation

Delhi’s air was severely polluted on Diwali, November 8, with the Central Pollution Control Board reporting an average Air Quality Index of 376. Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that the Delhi government manipulated pollution monitoring, but the claims have not been independently verified.

At 7 p.m. on Diwali, 19 of Delhi’s 59 monitoring stations recorded air in the severe category, 33 were in the very poor category and seven were in the poor category, according to CPCB data. Jahangirpuri had the highest reading, at 460. The official average placed the city in the very poor category.

Readings reported the following morning varied by time, location and measurement system. CPCB recorded a city average of 366 at 6 a.m. on November 9 and 483 at about 8:10 a.m., in the severe category. Private platforms reported readings above 1,000 in some neighbourhoods. AQI.in recorded 1,331 at 1:31 a.m.; that figure was a platform reading, not CPCB’s citywide measure.

Bhardwaj said the official figures understated pollution and alleged that about 20 monitoring stations had been placed in greener, more remote areas, while water was sprayed near existing stations in more polluted...