New Delhi pollution levels explode
New Delhi – Air pollution in New Delhi hit 18 times the healthy limit yesterday under a thick, toxic haze after a night of fireworks to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali – despite a court-ordered ban on their sales.
Residents of the sprawling Indian capital, which already ranks among the world’s most polluted cities, complained of eyes watering and aggravated coughs as levels of PM 2.5, tiny particulate matter that reaches deep into the lungs, rose alarmingly.
Air quality usually worsens in New Delhi ahead of Diwali, the festival of lights, and the Supreme Court temporarily banned the sale of firecrackers, aiming to lessen the risk to health.
But many still lit fireworks across the capital late into the night, either using old stocks or buying from neighbouring states.
Some environment activists said the court order was poorly enforced and firecrackers were still available to celebrate one of north India’s biggest festivals.
“Breathe nitrate and ammonia, home grown, hand made!” said environmentalist Vimlendu Jha in a Tweet calling for city authorities to declare a public emergency.
An index of air quality had crossed the “hazardous” limit of 300 yesterday, the most severe level on a US embassy scale of measurement which rates a reading of 50 as good and anything above that as a cause for concern.
Some parts of Delhi, such as Mandir Marg, showed an air quality reading of 941, close enough to the maximum level of 999 beyond which no readings are available. Apart from the firecracker ban, the Supreme Court also ordered diesel generators and a power plant to be shut down. –