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CHENNAI / NEW DELHI: Hundreds of millions of Indians in North India woke up to toxic air on Sunday (November 15) after Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, after many revelers defied the ban on using firecrackers to celebrate.
The capital New Delhi was covered in thick haze, with an average pollution level of more than 9 times what the World Health Organization considers safe.
“Delhi’s overall air quality is in the Severe category as of today morning,” the state-run Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research System (SAFAR) said on Sunday.
“Additional significant local emissions (probably related to firecrackers) last night … accumulate concentrations of pollutants related to stubble fire.”
But the meteorological body added that wind speeds in the capital increased on Sunday, helping to clear the suffocating air, while “scattered and scattered showers” were also expected later in the day.
Delhi’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, had banned the use and sale of firecrackers ahead of Diwali, but the policy has been difficult to implement.
Revelers in the capital launched massive amounts of fireworks until Sunday morning, prompting angry residents and environmentalists to complain on social media of shortness of breath and burning eyes.
FILE PHOTO: People watch firecrackers burn during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in New Delhi, India on November 14, 2020 (REUTERS / Anushree Fadnavis / File photo)
“Our gods must be so happy today that their followers set off firecrackers and drowned young people to despair and death,” said Vimlendu Jha, founder of the non-profit environmental group Swechha.
Some defended firecrackers as an essential part of a religious tradition celebrated by millions across the country.
“Are you realizing how all of India, all places, rose up in defiance against the cookie ban? It is like a form of battle cry for Hindu freedom,” tweeted Tarun Vijay, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A man paddles a makeshift boat across the Yamuna River on a smoggy morning in New Delhi, India, on November 15, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Adnan Abidi).
People travel by boat across the Yamuna River as a subway train is seen in the background in New Delhi, India, on November 15, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Adnan Abidi).
New Delhi’s air pollution generally worsens in October and November as farmers burn agricultural waste, coal-fired power plants, traffic, and windless days.
The raging COVID-19 epidemic, with more than 400,000 cases in the city of 20 million people, has also raised the alarm about smog. Doctors have warned of a sharp increase in respiratory diseases.
READ: Shoppers Ignore COVID-19, Pollution Ahead of India’s Biggest Festival
Cities in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar and New Delhi, which have already suffered from some of the worst airs in the world, saw pollution levels even higher than in the morning after Diwali last year, data shows. of the government analyzed. by Reuters showed.
A residential area is shrouded in smog in New Delhi, India, on November 15, 2020. Photo taken with a drone. (Photo: REUTERS / Danish Siddiqui)
Average air quality indices measured at different locations within major cities in these states were higher than last year, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board.
