lead with 10 cities in India's top 16 worst; fireworks + 13 stubble fires propel NCR into "severe" crisis unseen in years.
PM2.5 dominates toxic cocktail; experts forecast respiratory surge as vulnerable groups hunker down amid Stage III construction bans.
South India inhales clean air (Bengaluru 97) while north suffocates; global rankings shame Delhi, fueling demands for crop residue tech and firecracker overhauls.
Haryana bore the brunt of India's post-Diwali air pollution catastrophe on Tuesday, with 10 of its cities dominating the 16 most polluted nationwide, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) readings that exposed the NCR's toxic meltdown. Jind registered a "severe" AQI of 421—the country's worst among 271 monitored cities—catapulting from "poor" 248 overnight, while nine other districts choked under hazardous haze.
According to the Hindu, Dharuhera (412), Narnaul (390), Rohtak (376), Bahadurgarh (368), Gurugram (370), Sirsa (353), Charkhi Dadri (353), and Manesar (320) joined Jind in the "very poor" to "severe" danger zone, where even healthy residents face immediate respiratory threats from PM2.5-laden smog. Delhi clocked 351 ("very poor"), its grimmest post-Diwali spike in four years, with Ghaziabad (324) and Noida (320) trailing as the seasonal inversion trapped festive emissions across the region.
The apocalypse unfolded from unabated firecracker barrages defying Supreme Court "green cracker" limits and a Diwali-day peak of 13 stubble-burning hotspots in Fatehabad, Hisar, and Jind—compounded by waste incineration and traffic exhaust. PGIMER expert Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal warned of an impending health emergency, noting Haryana's 22 cities now wallow in "poor" to "severe" brackets, worse than 2024's Diwali aftermath. Southern relief: Bengaluru (97, satisfactory) and Chennai (142, moderate) breathed freely, spotlighting north India's winter pollution trap.
CAQM invoked Stage III emergency measures—banning construction, coal plants, and inter-state trucks—while health alerts mandate N95 masks, indoor confinement for children/elderly, and HEPA filters. IQAir crowned Delhi the world's most polluted capital, reigniting fury over enforcement lapses as meteorologists predict prolonged stagnation. Cros
