The air quality remains in very poor category in Delhi. (File)
Diwali celebrations have left Delhi gasping for breath as air quality remained in "very poor'' category today and thick haze engulfed many parts of the city.
On Monday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that pollution levels during Diwali region were the lowest in five years. While the air quality turned to "very poor", it was better than it has been in at least the past three years, according to data from government's air quality monitors.
Delhi's air quality was also better than satellite towns of Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Gurgaon and Noida, according to Central Pollution Control Board's data.
However, many on social media have said there's been no significant change since last year.
"It was a morning ritual for our parents to let all the windows & doors wide open for fresh air throughout the house & here we are in times where opening the windows has become hazardous to ours & our kids lives. Can't stop coughing & feeling the burn in my throat. #DelhiPollution," wrote a user Priyanka Chaudhary Raina.
Another user shared a picture of thick haze with a taunt. "Well done, Delhi NCR. #DelhiSmog #DelhiPollution," she wrote.
"It seems any awareness isn't enough for #Delhi!! Fireworks till 1 am has left the city redfaced & breathless. #Wind from d north at 11kmph probably is the reason why the #AQI avg at 340 else it wud have crossed 400 like Muzaffarnagar," another user wrote.
The pollution levels shot up in the national capital despite the Supreme Court order that only two types of firecrackers are legal. Yet many people across the city were seen bursting firercracks which led to deterioatin of air quality.
More than 4 million die every year across the world due to exposure to outdoor pollution, according to the World Health Organization.