Diwali Fireworks Flout Curbs, Push Delhi PM2.5 to Nearly 600 µg/m³
· India · Hindustan Times, NDTV
Fireworks continued well past the Supreme Court's 10 pm deadline in Delhi and the National Capital Region on Diwali night, driving hourly PM2.5 levels to almost 600 micrograms per cubic metre around 1 am, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. Sulphur dioxide, a marker of firecracker emissions, surged roughly 40 per cent city-wide the evening before Diwali and nearly quadrupled after the permitted window closed, analyst Sunil Dahiya said. The court had allowed only green firecrackers between 8 pm and 10 pm for two days, but enforcement was lax and there was no on-ground monitoring to verify whether the crackers being burst met the standard. Dahiya noted that even compliant green crackers emit only about 30 per cent less pollution than conventional ones, which he said remains a very large amount. Light easterly winds kept stubble smoke out of the city, making the firecracker spike the dominant factor. Experts called for a complete end to festival firecracker use and stronger
Why it matters
Delhi residents were exposed to air more than ten times the safe limit due to unenforced firecracker rules, worsening health risks for millions already battling hazardous baseline pollution.
Read the original report — Hindustan Times
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