New Delhi: Diwali this year was quieter but left the city’s air more polluted than last year’s festival. Experts said while less number of crackers were burst this year, air pollution rose sharply at a time when smog had already raised levels of toxic gases in the air. “Air pollutant levels during 2012 Diwali were found to be higher... which can be attributed to adverse meteorological conditions or bursting of less noisy but more smokeproducing crackers,” a CPCB official said. Particulate matter (PM10), RSPM and nitrogen dioxide showed an increase over last Diwali