00:00From Delhi to Chennai and Hyderabad, geography may be different, but the pollution story was the same yesterday.
00:06Chennai and Hyderabad witnessed a sharp spike in pollution, with the AQI levels touching alarming highs.
00:13Here's a breakdown of what each southern city looked like.
00:21A day after Diwali, it wasn't just Delhi that blanketed into thick smog.
00:26From the national capital to India's southern cities, the post-Diwali pollution story is looking all too familiar.
00:33According to open-source air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, while Delhi's AQI went up to 2,283 after Diwali,
00:43Chennai and Hyderabad also witnessed a sharp deterioration in air quality.
00:47With AQI levels crossing the 766 mark in several areas, in Chennai, intermittent rainfall provided some relief, but failed to
00:57completely clear the polluted air.
01:01We are here today, the next day, after Diwali, and you can see we have a clear sky.
01:05That is a pattern over here.
01:07However, on Diwali Day, this was not the situation, as we also have reports that the air quality index was
01:12absolutely horrific to breathe, and all because of the weather situation.
01:16We also had a rainy day prediction, along with that, a thick smog, all because of the crackers burst.
01:22One good thing about Chennai is that crackers are burst only on two days, on specific times that are being
01:27allotted by the Tamil Nadu government.
01:29The story was no different in Hyderabad.
01:32The city woke up to a grey, smog-filled morning on Monday, a day after Diwali celebrations.
01:37Sunday night, AQI levels in some areas even crossed the 900 mark, according to GoAQI.in.
01:45However, as the day progressed, air quality levels gradually improved.
01:50As Hyderabad celebrates Diwali with firecrackers and festivities, air quality remains the main focus.
01:57Well, the Telangana Pollution Control Board's monitoring machine here, monitoring device here in Khertabad, has recorded air quality at 73,
02:07which is said to be good.
02:08Children, senior citizens and people suffering from respiratory alignments are advised to minimize the exposure to smoke and polluted air.
02:17Every year, the post-Diwali pollution crisis returns, leaving people gasping for clean air.
02:24But, is this becoming the new normal?
02:26You may have never touched a cigarette in your life, but the air you breathe could expose you to particulate
02:33pollution,
02:33comparable to that from smoking several cigarettes a day.
02:38Bureau Report, India Today.
02:39Bureau Report, India Today.
02:40Bureau Report, India Today.
02:40Bureau Report, India Today.
02:40Bureau Report, India.
