TNPCB report flags poor AQI in Tiruchi during Deepavali

Tiruchi city covered in haze caused by bursting of firecrackers during Deepavali on November 8. | Photo Credit: R. Selvamuthukumar The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Tiruchi during Deepavali 2026 recorded in the Gandhi Park residential zone was ‘poor’ and in the sensitive zone of Bishop Heber College it was ‘moderate’, according to data published by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on Monday.The agency’s comparative analysis of AQI data for 2024, 2025, and 2026 across 39 monitoring locations in 17 districts of Tamil Nadu by the TNPCB indicates a continued increase in AQI levels during Deepavali 2026.As per the analysis, AQI in Tiruchi’s Gandhi Park was ‘moderate’ in 2024 at 124 and at 119 in 2025. However, in 2026, the AQI increased to a ‘poor’ level at 240. The results for Bishop Heber College stayed ‘moderate’ with an AQI of 112 in 2024, 111 in 2025 and 115 in 2026 respectively.In Thanjavur district, the AQI at residential zone of Teachers’ Colony rose from a moderate 124 in 2024 and 126 in 2025 to a ‘poor’ reading of 210 in 2026. AQI readings in the Philomina Nagar residential zone were ‘moderate’ 108 (2024), 149 (2025) and 183 in 2026 respectively.The manual monitoring survey was conducted from November 1 to 9 for ambient air quality at 39 stations and noise monitoring survey at 34 stations across districts including Greater Chennai Corporation.A total of seven stations were surveyed for AQI in Chennai while data was collected from two stations each in Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Vellore, Salem, Chengalpattu, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Thoothukudi, Tiruppur, Nagapattinam, and Kancheepuram districts.The TNPCB reported that the average AQI increased from 143.46 in 2024 to 161.69 in 2025 and further to 168.97 in 2026, registering an increase of approximately 4.50% in 2026 compared to 2025. Of the 39 monitoring locations, 25 recorded an increase in AQI while 14 recorded a decrease in 2026 compared to 2025.Improvements in AQI were observed at several locations, particularly in Tiruvottiyur, Cuddalore, Vellore, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Thoothukudi, and Nagapattinam during 2026 compared to 2025.Ambient noiseTNPCB monitored ambient noise levels at 34 locations across Tamil Nadu during the pre-Deepavali and Deepavali periods of 2024, 2025 and 2026. The arithmetic average of pre-Deepavali noise level increased from 60.29 dB(A) in 2025 to 61.06 dB(A) in 2026, registering an increase of 0.77 dB(A) (1.28%).Similarly, the arithmetic average noise level on Deepavali day increased from 75.70 dB(A) in 2025 to 76.73 dB(A) in 2026, representing an increase of 1.03 dB(A) (1.36%).According to the report, in the residential zone of Tiruchi’s Thillai Nagar, the ambient noise level on November 1 was 63.9 dB(A). It increased to 83.3 dB(A) on November 8. Similarly, in Thanjavur’s Arunanthamal Nagar residential zone, the pre-Deepavali ambient noise level this year was 58.5 dB(A), and increased to 82.5 dB(A) on November 8.The agency noted that the general increase in both AQI and ambient noise levels during Deepavali 2026 could be attributed to the bursting of firecrackers, along with variations in meteorological conditions such as wind speed, wind direction and atmospheric stability. Published - November 09, 2026 06:56 pm IST