Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 326 at 6 am today,
New Delhi:
Delhi’s air quality turned ‘very poor’ this morning as people in several parts of the national capital burst firecrackers on Diwali night defying the ban.
Loud thuds of firecrackers thundered throughout the Diwali night breaching permissible decibel limits that made the air unbreathable. People started bursting crackers by dusk, and as the night progressed, the intensity of firecrackers increased.
Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) stood at 323 at 6 am today, a day after Diwali, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) shows. In neighbouring Gurugram, Noida and Faridabad too, the air quality dropped in the ‘very poor’ category.
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.
However, as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the city’s air quality was still the best for Diwali day this in four years. Before this, the city recorded an AQI of 382 last Diwali. Delhi had recorded an AQI of 414 in 2020; 337 in 2019, and 281 in 2018.
The Delhi government had banned the production, storage, sale and bursting of firecrackers this Diwali after considering environmental concerns and health hazards associated with it. Those caught violating the ban would be fined and jailed for six months, the government had said.
Last week, the Supreme Court had refused to lift the ban on firecrackers in Delhi citing pollution.
“How can we allow firecrackers even if they are green crackers? Have you seen the pollution of Delhi?” the Supreme Court had said turning down BJP MP Manoj Tiwari’s plea against the Delhi government order.
The AAP government had banned the sale and use of firecrackers last Diwali too due to concerns over alarming air pollution levels.
In addition to firecrackers, air pollution in Delhi during the Diwali period is made worse by stubble burning – a contentious practice – in neighbouring states like Haryana and Punjab.