New Delhi/IBNS, Oct. 21 -- The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi-NCR worsened to the "severe" category as firecrackers were burst on the occasion of Diwali beyond the mandated time slots fixed by the Supreme Court, media reports said.

Noida and Gurgaon, the cities which also form the NCR, were no better with AQI standing at 407 and 402 respectively.

The AQI was noted as "severe" in various monitoring stations that included Ashok Vihar (445), Anand Vihar (440), Wazirpur (435) and Dwarka (422).

Though the bursting of firecrackers used to remain banned in Delhi-NCR that battles air pollution in this part of the year, the Supreme Court had allowed the bursting of green crackers in the national capital region in two time frames on October 18...