Amidst a flagrant violation of the Supreme Court’s restrictions on bursting crackers, a day after Diwali, Delhi saw its Air Quality Index (AQI) in the ‘severe’ category in line with the previous two years, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The organisation attributed the poor air quality to “unfavourable conditions coupled with pollutants generated from fireworks.”
“The level of pollutants showed an increase on the Diwali day. The major changes were observed after 8 p.m., when the fireworks started. The cumulative effect of existing pollution load and pollutants release due to use of fireworks as well as meteorological conditions like calm condition with significant humidity attributed to present situation,” a statement from Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain’s office said.
Harmful for all
The AQI on Thursday evening was 410 — the ‘severe’ mark. This corresponds to air quality that’s harmful to even healthy people and severely afflicts those with underlying respiratory illnesses. The CPCB’s AQI for Delhi last Diwali was 403, and 445 for the Diwali before it.
A comparative analysis by the Delhi Environment Department showed that peaks for particulate pollution were higher this year compared to Diwali 2017. Some of Delhi’s pollution monitoring stations recorded particulate matter (PM) levels that exceeded 999 microgram per cubic metre.
While the 24-hour average concentration of the harmful PM 2.5 pollutant remained over four times the standard at 5 p.m. on Thursday, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the peaks recorded overnight were much higher. Meteorological conditions, too, weren’t conducive to dispersing pollutants.
Last month the Supreme Court permitted the sale of only ‘green crackers’, which reduce particulate matter emissions by 35% at least, and specified that even these only be used between 8 p.m.-10 p.m. on Diwali. But many regions of Delhi’s National Capital Region (NCR) reported instances of crackers being burnt beyond this interval.
Moreover, because such green crackers weren’t commercially available, the crackers that were burnt were likely illegal. A senior official in the Union Environment Ministry told The Hindu that licences were “illegally issued” to some firecracker sellers in Noida. “The CPCB will take action on this,” the official said.
‘Severe’ at 2 a.m.
In a statement, SAFAR said the AQI had entered the severe category at 2 a.m. on Thursday, however, pollution levels had started to fall from the afternoon onwards. The pollution levels were expected to be in the ‘very poor category’ by Thursday night, “provided no additional local emissions” were added, it said.
Published - November 08, 2018 10:49 am IST
