New Delhi: In a gross violation of a Supreme Court (SC) order, people in Delhi burst around 5 million kilograms of firecrackers on Diwali night, well past the permissible time limit.
This caused the air quality in several parts of the city to dip to “very unhealthy” levels.
Despite the two-hour window to burst only green crackers ordered by the apex court, Delhiites did not adhere to the 10pm deadline and continued to set off firecrackers till late midnight.
A report by research group Urban Emissions said around 50,00,000 kgs of firecrackers were used in Delhi this year, the same amount as burnt last year.
5 million
kilos set off in Delhi on Diwali night, according to Urban Emissions“This equated to 1,50,000kg of mass of PM2.5 (particles in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers). However, one cannot expect an overnight change in people’s behaviour because of a court order,” an environment lawyer and activist, Ritwick Dutta, said.
After Diwali, the overall air quality index (AQI) in Delhi jumped to 642, which falls in the “severe-plus emergency” category.
According to the government-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (Safar), the court has at least recognised the harmful consequences of crackers.
Safar, however, warned that Delhi’s air quality is likely to remain “severe” for the next two days, as smoke from the firecrackers had slowed down the process of dispersing the pollutants.
“The online indicators of pollution monitoring stations indicated ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ air quality, as the volume of ultra-fine particulates PM2.5 and PM10, which enter the respiratory system and reach the bloodstream, sharply rose from around 8pm,” Safar said in a media statement.
7900 kg
amount of illegal firecrackers seized by Delhi policeThe Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said the air quality began to deteriorate from 7pm on Diwali evening. The AQI rose from 281 at 7pm to 291 an hour later and by 10pm.
The top court had allowed bursting of crackers from 8pm to 10pm on Diwali. It had allowed manufacture and sale of only “green crackers”, which have a low light and sound emission.
The court also directed the city police to ensure that banned firecrackers were not sold. However, violations were reported from across Delhi.
On Diwali night, Delhi Police registered 557 cases and arrested more than 300 people for violating the court’s order. “We seized over 7,900kg of illegal firecrackers, including 2,500kg on the day of Diwali, since Supreme Court ordered a ban on the sale of old crackers on October 23,” the Delhi Police told media.
