The air quality in Delhi has been “very good” this year, so much so that “everybody was breathing comfortably” even the morning after Diwali, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan told reporters on Sunday, three days after the festival.

He said the air quality in Delhi after Diwali was far better than last year, and that “we are on the right path” as “no health afflictions” such as lung diseases had been observed during the festival.

Vardhan added that of the six categories under which air quality is judged, “poor days” were fewer by 10% this year in Delhi and “very poor days” by 30%. The number of “satisfactory days” had doubled, that of “moderate days” rose by 22%, and there was no “severe” day this year, the environment minister claimed.

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The morning after Diwali in the Capital

Although the Central Pollution Control Board had claimed on the night of Diwali that Delhi’s air quality was better after festivities this year compared to 2016, real-time data showed a different picture. The pollution in several areas of the city surpassed normal levels, dashing the hopes of many after the Supreme Court banned the sale of firecrackers during Diwali celebrations in Delhi and the National Capital Region till November 1.

Concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matters that are 10 or less than 10 and 2.5 or less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter) rose alarmingly. Levels of PM 2.5 grew more than those of PM 10.

At India Gate, the PM 2.5 level was 911 microns at 6 am on the morning after Diwali, alarmingly higher than the standard of 60 microns. At 8 am, the air quality index, at 326, was “very poor”. It was “severe” at Anand Vihar, with an air quality index of 403 and PM 2.5 levels at 416 microns.

In 2016, an alarming smog after Diwali in Delhi-NCR had forced schools to remain closed for three days and the National Green Tribunal to declare an environmental emergency in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.