Diwali: Cracker ban goes up in smoke as Delhi air quality turns 'very poor'
A 'very poor' air quality index essentially means that
people may suffer from respiratory illnesses on a prolonged exposure to such
air
The festive fervour gripped the
nation on Thursday as people celebrated Diwali, often referred to as 'the
festival of lights by lighting diyas (earthen lamps), paying obeisance to
Goddess Lakshmi, distributing sweets. However, a quiet and promising evening
gave way to thick haze and noise as Delhi celebrated Diwali, dashing the hopes
of cracker-free festivities, following a Supreme Court ban on the sale of
firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The cracker-bursting was relatively
subdued as compared to previous years. However, the revelers in the adjoining
townships of Delhi such as Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad paid little heed to the
apex court's writ and environmentalists' concerns.
Real-time pollution data alarming
The online indicators of the
pollution monitoring stations in the city glowed red, indicating a 'very poor'
air quality as the volume of ultrafine particulates PM 2.5 and PM 10, which
enter the respiratory system and manage to reach the bloodstream, sharply rose
from around 7 pm.
At 10 pm, in Mandir Marg in Delhi,
the PM 2.5 concentration was 390 units against the prescribed 60 units, while
PM 10 was 480 against the prescribed 100.
Real-time pollution data appeared
alarming. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee's (DPCC) R K Puram monitoring
station recorded PM 2.5 and PM 10 at 878 and 1,179 micrograms per cubic metre
at around 11 pm.
However, the nitrogen dioxide and
sulphur dioxide concentrations at 50.84 and 31.20 respectively were well under
the prescribed limits.
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