Smog shrouds the historic Golconda Fort on Monday morning, a day after Deepavali celebrations, amid deteriorating air quality in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: Siddhant Thakur
Hyderabad woke up to a smoggy morning on Monday following a night of non-stop fireworks. Many central localities like Banjara Hills, Srinagar Colony, Panjagutta, S.R. Nagar, Ameerpet and Somajiguda were left gasping under toxic air as air quality index (AQI) reached hazardous levels.
The air quality in Hyderabad deteriorated in the night itself with particulate matter 2.5 reaching 392 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) at 9.30 p.m. and the AQI averaged 509. At the same time, Ravi Colony near Masjid Banda logged 995 AQI as crackers went off one after the other.
At 6.30 p.m., the AQI was low 130 with PM2.5 at 92. It started rising by 7.30 p.m. reaching 176, at 8.30 p.m. it was 321 reaching the peak of 509 at 9.30 p.m. Even at 11 p.m. when some of the cracker bursting declined in the city, the AQI remained high at 410.
The data was sourced from publicly available pollution monitors as the Telangana Pollution Control Board monitors were out of order as the air pollution was rising. By 10 p.m., TSPCB’s University of Hyderabad monitoring station was offline.
The air had a metallic sulphurous smell in many areas as the crackers went off one after the other. “For the first time in Hyderabad, I am experiencing air pollution this bad. My eyes are burning, the air is thick with the stench of burnt chemicals and gunpowder, and breathing itself feels uncomfortable. It’s only 10 PM. The entire colony is still out, relentlessly bursting crackers. The roads are covered in the remains of firecrackers, and this photograph captures barely a fraction of the mess,” wrote one social media user.
The high AQI recordings were almost evenly spread through the city as a 20-degrees Celsius wind blew from the north-eastern direction.
The air pollution hit a peak at 9.30 p.m. before slowly dropping down through the night. At 11.30 p.m. when the average AQI in Hyderabad was 442, Serilingampally recorded a high of 666.
By morning it still remained hazardous at 178 AQI with PM 10 reaching 113 μg/m³.
Published – November 09, 2026 08:54 am IST
