AAP accuses Delhi government of shutting monitoring stations to hide smog levels

UPDATE - follow-up to Delhi air pollution: AAP slams Delhi govt for alleged air quality data 'manipulation': The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday morning attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Delhi over air quality data manipulation through the shutting down of air quality monitoring stations.

Data Outages

Data from several Delhi Pollution Control Committee monitoring stations were unavailable for hours at the peak of pollution on Sunday night after Deepavali. People burst firecrackers well past the 10 p.m. deadline set by the Supreme Court, pushing PM2.5 levels in parts of the city to 66 times the World Health Organization guideline before levels declined early Monday.

Allegations

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned how people can trust a government that shuts down monitoring stations on Diwali night and commits data fraud. He stated in a video on X that the government is doing the fraud openly and that everyone is silent because they are part of it. The party wrote to the CAQM and CPCB last week to complain about data manipulation, and previously accused the government of spraying water on monitoring stations to manipulate AQI data, calling the fudging life-threatening.

Context

Air quality monitoring networks are critical for tracking public health risks during heavy pollution events like Deepavali. Authorities like the CAQM and CPCB oversee regional air quality management and environmental standards across the national capital region.