new delhi
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About 20 million people in India’s capital woke up on Wednesday breathing the most polluted air of any major city in the world, a day after Diwali celebrations that usually involve setting off fireworks and firecrackers.
As of Wednesday, New Delhi’s PM2.5 concentrations, a measure of airborne pollutants, were more than 40 times the World Health Organization’s annual guideline levels, according to Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir.
New Delhi suffers from severe pollution year-round, but it is usually worst during the winter months, when millions of farmers in surrounding areas burn field stumps to make way for the next crop.
This week’s sharp deterioration in air quality came after Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Diwali traditionally involves extensive use of firecrackers, which release sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and harmful heavy metals into the air.
In 2020, authorities imposed a complete ban on the manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers in New Delhi, citing dangerous pollution levels.
This year, the Supreme Court allowed the use of so-called “green” firecrackers, which manufacturers claim are less polluting, for a limited period of time. But residents reported that the curfew was poorly enforced, with people setting off firecrackers well past the deadline, and that “non-green” firecrackers were still available.
“The situation is getting worse and worse every year,” said Anushka Singh, a resident.
The 30-year-old graphic designer said she would normally be at home with her dog on Diwali “to help him with the constant noise until late at night and early in the morning.”
She described how the day after Diwali, when she stepped out of her house, her throat felt irritated and her eyes burned.
“It’s painful to live in Delhi…Given the decades of data, I just hope there are at least stricter rules and that they are actually enforced,” Singh said.
Chandra Tandon, 52, who runs a corner shop in the capital, said bursting crackers was “part of the fun and happens once a year”, but agreed it would be “difficult” for those who have to endure the aftermath.
“I kept breathing that smoke and it’s definitely not good,” she said. “You should leave the baking of crackers to the children… If you have lived in Delhi for any length of time, you know how bad the pollution is every year. So at least adults should do their part.”
Despite the city being the country’s political capital, authorities have had little success in cleaning up Delhi’s toxic air.
Previous attempts to curb pollution have included watering roads, restricting traffic by requiring vehicles with odd or even number plates to drive every other day, and building two smog towers worth 200 million rupees ($2.4 million) in 2018 meant to act as giant air purifiers.
But a lack of strict enforcement and coordination is slowing progress, experts suggest.
India is also desperate to accelerate its rapidly growing economy and meet the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people.
Three Indian cities, including New Delhi, were ranked among the world’s most polluted cities on Wednesday, according to air quality tracker IQAir.
Kolkata in the east was ranked 4th, while Mumbai in the west was ranked 10th.
