Delhi air quality: Toxic smoke envelops capital after Indians celebrate Diwali night with fireworks


Taniya Dutta
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Indian capital New Delhi was wrapped in a thick layer of smoke on Friday, after revellers flouted a ban and set off millions of fireworks to celebrate the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali.

Average air quality levels in the city were recorded at almost 400 on the Air Quality Index, said the Central Pollution Control Board, India’s leading environmental watchdog, as fireworks were set off throughout Thursday and into the early hours of Friday. Anything above 50 AQI is considered harmful, with 300 or above deemed a health hazard.

“There is a black cloud because of pollution,” Mahesh Yadav, a 19-year-old student visiting Delhi’s iconic India Gate war memorial, told The National. "Nothing is clearly visible. My eyes are burning and it is because people can't stop bursting crackers. They should abide by the law. Look at the pollution levels, it is suffocating.”

Diwali, the festival of lights, is traditionally celebrated by lighting earthen lamps but locals increasingly burst fireworks.

A reveller lights sparklers and other fireworks at Diwali celebrations near New Delhi. EPA
A reveller lights sparklers and other fireworks at Diwali celebrations near New Delhi. EPA

Although the sale, use and manufacture of fireworks is banned by the Delhi authorities, residents flouted the ban and set off millions of firecrackers, worsening air and noise pollution levels. That led to people coughing and wheezing, while many complained of stinging eyes and burning throats.

The PM 2.5 concentration in the city was 202 microns per cubic meter, as per the IQAir – a Swiss air quality technology company that analyses global air quality data. These fine particles penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream and are blamed for chronic respiratory and cardiac diseases.

The World Health Organisation in its revised guideline considers 5 micrograms per cubic metre as the safe level of exposure to particulate pollution.

A similar deterioration of air quality was seen in the cities of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad.

New Delhi, home to 22 million residents, has been repeatedly dubbed as the world’s most polluted capital cities in recent years. It suffers from air pollution throughout the year but toxic air levels spike during winter due to fireworks and with smoke from farm stubble fires. The Supreme Court had banned fireworks that contain toxic substances like lead, arsenic and barium in 2018 but allowed use of less polluting varieties. It also called Delhi a “gas chamber” in 2019 over its deteriorating air quality.

Authorities, as well as police, had deployed dozens of teams to enforce the ban on firecrackers across the capital, but many people breached the rules, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday.

"The current Air Quality Index level is concerning. Four days ago, Delhi's AQI surpassed 350, and there was fear that it would exceed 400 the day after Diwali, Mr Rai said.

“The government was making efforts to prevent this. The people of Delhi celebrated Diwali but refrained from bursting firecrackers, but many still burst crackers. If they had co-operated, the levels would have been lower,” he said.

Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace is barely visible, as a pall of pollution hangs over New Delhi after Diwali celebrations. AFP
Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace is barely visible, as a pall of pollution hangs over New Delhi after Diwali celebrations. AFP

Delhi’s air pollution has become a public health hazard with hospitals recording an increased number of patients with respiratory diseases during winters.

The government has pledged to clean up the city’s air and introduced a slew of measures including switching to electric buses, at times banning construction but people in Delhi continue to face the brunt of the man-made hazard especially during the festive season.

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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

ESSENTIALS

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Power: 220 and 280 horsepower

Torque: 350 and 360Nm

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT 

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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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Updated: November 01, 2024, 11:59 AM`