Chandigarh, 10 November 2026: Air quality at several Chandigarh monitoring stations entered the “very poor” category during Diwali night, even though three of the six stations recorded lower readings than on the previous Diwali, according to separate reports published Tuesday using Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) data. The distinction matters: an improvement compared with last year does not mean the air was clean on the night itself.
What Chandigarh’s Diwali AQI readings showed
According to Hindustan Times reporting on 10 November, the highest reported monitoring-station reading was 326 in Sector 25 around midnight. Other readings included 312 at PEC in Sector 12, 310 at IMTECH in Sector 39 and 304 in Sector 53. The 301–400 AQI band is classified as “very poor”.
Lower readings were recorded at two other monitoring locations: Sector 22 registered 158, while Sector 17 registered 170, both within the “moderate” band. These are location-specific readings from the period reported, not one citywide 24-hour average.
Why officials also reported an improvement
The Tribune reported on 10 November that three of Chandigarh’s six monitoring stations had better Diwali-period readings than a year earlier, two were broadly unchanged and one worsened. Its comparison put Sector 22 at 158 against 234 last year, Sector 17 at 170 against 183, and IMTECH Sector 39 at 310 against 318.
Sector 53 remained at 304, PEC Sector 12 at 312, while Sector 25 worsened from 296 to 326. These year-on-year comparisons explain how the city could show improvement at some stations while still recording unhealthy nighttime pollution at others.
Air improved after midnight, but noise remained a concern
The Tribune reported that air quality improved after the permitted firecracker window, returning to the satisfactory category by about 3 am on 9 November. The administration had allowed green firecrackers between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali night. Weather conditions that dispersed pollutants were also cited as a factor; the reports do not establish precisely how much of the change was caused by reduced firecracker use.
Noise readings told a different story. The Tribune reported that IMTECH Sector 39 registered 83.9 decibels during the 8–10 pm period, compared with 74.3 decibels a year earlier. Sector 22 increased from 80.7 to 81.3 decibels. These figures are site- and time-specific rather than a single measure for the whole city.
What residents in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula should know
People with asthma, chronic lung conditions or heart disease may be more sensitive to short-lived pollution spikes. Residents should follow official local air-quality updates, reduce strenuous outdoor activity during particularly poor conditions and seek medical advice if symptoms develop. A single nighttime reading should not be interpreted as the next day’s air quality.
The results also provide useful context alongside our earlier report on Tricity Diwali police and emergency arrangements. The available station comparisons relate specifically to Chandigarh; they should not be presented as measurements for Mohali or Panchkula.
Sources and limitations
Sources: The Tribune, 10 November 2026 and Hindustan Times, 10 November 2026, both citing CPCC monitoring information. This report compares their published accounts; it does not claim independent access to the underlying station-level raw data or establish a direct causal attribution for the changes.