Delhi awakes to a toxic haze after Diwali as pollution season begins

The Guardian - World NewsCenter-LeftEN 3 min read 100% complete by Hannah Ellis-Petersen in DelhiOctober 21, 2025 at 11:11 AM

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Delhi experienced severe air pollution following Diwali celebrations, with an air quality index (AQI) exceeding 500 and particulate levels reaching up to 20 times higher than WHO standards. The newly elected BJP-led Delhi government successfully appealed to the Supreme Court to allow "green crackers," which are marginally less polluting, during Diwali despite environmental concerns. Fireworks were set off widely across time-restricted windows, leading to some of the worst pollution levels in at least three years. Neighboring Lahore in Pakistan also reported declining air quality, partly attributing it to pollutants from India's celebrations.

Key Topics & Entities

World Health Organization 60% Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) ×270% Delhi ×480%

Keywords

pollution 100% diwali 90% delhi 90% fireworks 80% toxic haze 70% air quality index (aqi) 70% bharatiya janata party (bjp) 60% green crackers 60% environmentalists 50% supreme court 50%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

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Source

The Guardian - World News

Political Lean

Center-Left (-0.40)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Delhi

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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pollution diwali delhi fireworks toxic haze air quality index (aqi)bharatiya janata party (bjp)green crackers environmentalists supreme court

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