As ‘liberals’ and propagandists whine about Delhi’s AQI post Diwali, here is how it has remained similar despite cracker ban in previous years: How stubble burning, not firecrackers, worsens AQI

For years, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) has remained between the ‘very poor’ and ‘severe’ categories during Diwali, irrespective of whether firecrackers were banned, restricted, or allowed in the form of ‘green crackers’, as happened this year. Diwali has become a ‘festival of ridicule’ for liberals and propagandists. Every year, they come out and blame Hindus for bursting fireworks, claiming it worsens the air quality. Rocky Singh, who got famous from a food show, wrote, “DELHI AIR POLLUTION WAS AT LETHAL LEVELS YESTERDAY”. DELHI AIR POLLUTION WAS AT LETHAL LEVELS YESTERDAY(Don’t get your undies in a twist loonies – this is a statement of fact-not political-not religious-not accusatory-not defensible – not hateful-not loving-not biased …) ITS A FACT (HOW MORONS HATE THOSE )Its better now pic.twitter.com/2HUEhNph1l— Rocky Singh (@RockyEatsX) October 21, 2025 Photographer Atul Kasbekar rote, “In the name of ‘religion’ people in north India are voluntarily destroying their health”. In the name of ‘religion’ people in north India are voluntarily destroying their healthMake it make sense plsYes sure, there are other factors like auto/ factory/ industry emissions adding to Delhi’s horrible airI’ve shot in Beijing in early 2000s and u couldn’t see three…— atul kasbekar (@atulkasbekar) October 21, 2025 X user “The Protagonist” wrote, “F**k all of you pathetic imbeciles for making life miserable. FYI India accounts for about 46% of global asthma deaths, and roughly 200,000 people die each year in India from asthma,” while showing an image of asthma inhaler. Post Diwali breakfast. Fuck all of you pathetic imbeciles for making life miserable.FYI India accounts for about 46% of global asthma deaths, and roughly 200,000 people die each year in India from asthma. pic.twitter.com/0xsbrH9fYI— The Protagonist (@_protagonist1) October 21, 2025 X user Jatin Gupta wrote, “Delhi is a city full of buffoons and idiots. The air is unbreathable now because some dimwits think burning crackers=Diwali. Just dumb. Plain Dumb.” Old picture but same story. Delhi is a city full of buffoons and idiots.The air is unbreathable now because some dimwits think burning crackers=Diwali. Just dumb. Plain Dumb. Happy Diwali and happy Asthma pic.twitter.com/TvdJgDmfJg— Jatin Gupta (@jatingupta25) October 20, 2025 Delhi AQI data reveals AQI remained same over years despite ban on firecrackers According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s bulletin on 21st October, Delhi’s AQI was 351 compared to 345 on 20th October. OpIndia checked data since 2021 for the day before Diwali festivities and the following day. In 2024, Diwali was celebrated on 31st October. On that day, the AQI was 328 and the next day, that is, on 1st November, the AQI was 339, as per CPCB respiratory data. In 2023, Diwali was celebrated on 12th November. On that day, the AQI was 218 and the next day, that is, on 13th November, the AQI was 358. In 2022, Diwali was celebrated on 24th October. On that day, the AQI was 312 and the next day, that is, on 25th October, the AQI was 302. In 2021, Diwali was celebrated on 4th November. On that day, the AQI was 382 and the next day, that is, on 5th November, the AQI was 462. Despite variations in enforcement, the data shows no significant improvement, which indicates that there are factors beyond Diwali celebrations that are primarily responsible for the city’s toxic air. BJP blames AAP-led Punjab for worsening air On 21st October, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab of aggravating Delhi’s pollution through unchecked stubble burning incidents. BJP’s IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, in a post on X, said that farmers in Punjab set their paddy stubble ablaze during Diwali to pass it off as firecracker smoke and evade police action. Don’t blame Deepawali for the poor air quality in Delhi-NCR.Officials in Arvind Kejriwal–ruled Punjab have attributed the increase in farm fires to farmers setting paddy stubble ablaze during Diwali celebrations so that the fires could pass off as firecrackers being burst,… pic.twitter.com/Pfw9n0YFGR— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 21, 2025 He wrote, “Don’t blame Deepawali for the poor air quality in Delhi-NCR,” and added that AAP is effectively incentivising stubble burning to malign the Hindu festival. What data says about stubble burning According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s (ICAR) Consortium for Research on Agroecosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS) data, stubble burning incidents have increased substantially over the past few days. On 21st October, 268 stubble burning incidents were reported, out of which 62 were from Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh took the lead with 103 incidents. Similarly, on 20th October, the number of incidents was 217, out of which 45 were from Punjab and 77 from Uttar Pradesh. On 19th October, Punjab reported 67 incidents and Utta