A thick layer of pollution covered India’s capital this Monday, after fireworks lit up New Delhi’s sky during Diwali celebrations, the Festival of Lights.
The use of pyrotechnics further increased pollution levels, which were already dangerously high, and intensified the seasonal air quality crisis that plagues the city every year.
Despite restrictions on fireworks, New Delhi residents celebrated the Hindu festival of lights using firecrackers on Sunday night, releasing smoke and fine particulate matter into the atmosphere.
This Monday morning, the Air Quality Index exceeded 350 (dangerous level) in several parts of the capital, reaching the “severe” category and posing significant health risks.
Monitoring stations across the city recorded similarly alarming levels as visibility deteriorated, with a gray fog (smog) covering streets and tall buildings.
In October, India’s Supreme Court attempted to limit pollution caused by Diwali by restricting conventional fireworks and allowing only so-called “eco-friendly fireworks,” approved under specific conditions, during three-hour windows on Saturday and Sunday.
Although these rockets produce fewer emissions, they are not free from pollution and also release particulate matter and other pollutants, worsening the air quality, which is already dangerous in the city.
New Delhi and the respective metropolitan area, home to more than 30 million people, are regularly among the most polluted areas in the world during winter.
Pollution worsens when Diwali fireworks coincide with the climate colder and with smoke coming from the burning of agricultural waste in the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana.
After harvesting rice, farmers often burn crop residues to prepare the soil for the next crop. The smoke is carried by the wind towards New Delhi, adding to the pollution generated by vehicles, industries, construction dust and other local sources.
The problem becomes particularly serious between the end of October and November, when lower temperatures, low wind speeds and atmospheric stagnation prevent the dispersion of pollutants.
The result is a dense fog that can remain over the capital and surrounding areas for several days.
New Delhi authorities have implemented a series of measures to contain the pollutionincluding restrictions on construction activities and the use of power generators dieseland the judiciary sought to limit the use of fireworks.
The measures, however, have not been sufficient to prevent the return of severe levels of pollution every year.
Environmentalists say long-term solutions, such as cleaner energy and stricter controls on vehicle emissions, are needed to avoid the annual crisis.
