Crackers on Diwali drive sharp drop in air quality

PM2.5 concentrations reached 500 at six air quality index (AQI) monitoring stations – BKC, Byculla, Chembur, Kherwadi in Bandra East, Deonar, and Mindspace in Malad West

Mumbai: Despite the heightened concern over degrading air quality in Mumbai, which prompted the Bombay high court (HC) to issue strict guidelines allowing firecrackers to be burst only between 8pm and 10pm, firecrackers were burst with abandon at most spaces across the city on Diwali night.

Crackers on Diwali drive sharp drop in air quality

This was clearly apparent in the rapid deterioration of air as Sunday night neared. Hourly records available with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed the concentration of pollutants – particularly of PM2.5, which are small enough to invade even the narrowest airways leading into the body – rose sharply around 9pm and reached maximum levels post 10pm at most places.

PM2.5 concentrations reached 500 at six air quality index (AQI) monitoring stations – BKC, Byculla, Chembur, Kherwadi in Bandra East, Deonar, and Mindspace in Malad West – beyond which values were not shown. At least 13 stations had PM2.5 concentrations spike between 401 to 500, placing the localised real-time AQI at ‘severe,’ dangerous to both the healthy and those with existing diseases. The 24-hour permissible level for PM2.5 is 60ug/m3. Citizens’ records corroborated official data, with most bearing witness to the continued bursting of firecrackers post the 10pm deadline.

PM2.5 concentrations showed an escalation from the previous year too, according to an analysis by Climate Trends. PM2.5 levels touched 805 in Chembur on Sunday, the day’s highest, whereas on Monday, it touched 841 in Kherwadi. In 2022, the highest PM2.5 levels on Diwali and the day after were 525 and 594, both recorded at Chakala in Andheri.

PM2.5 concentration at three out of four AQI stations of the BMC that are not included in CPCB’s network of monitors was above 300, categorised as ‘very poor’.

Stalin D, director of the non-governmental organisation Vanashakti that petitioned the Bombay High Court on the issue, said, “It was particularly the elite neighbourhoods like Hiranandani Powai that kept on with the relentless bursting till after 11pm. No police was there to stop them.”

Chetan Kamble, who lives near Shivaji Park, Dadar said there was so much smoke from 9pm to 11:30pm that he could not see the people around him. “The police was around, but they did nothing to curtail the violation of the high court’s orders,” said Kamble. Dhaval Shah, an Andheri resident also said he heard firecrackers being burst from sundown and till 12:30am.

All these factors pushed up the average AQI level in the city. As per the CPCB, AQI was moderate at 193, whereas according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), it as poor at 245.

Pollution caused by fireworks could severely impact health of citizens, cautioned experts. “Firecrackers contain aluminium, iron, zinc, sulphur, and even the banned barium, all of which are quite toxic. As per our studies, the continuous bursting of firecrackers by 10 to 15 people can cause PM2.5 levels to go up to as high as 2,000 to 3,000ug/m3. The levels shown are lesser, because they are the average,” said Rakesh Kumar, former director of NEERI.

Combustion of these chemicals could not only lead to symptoms like breathlessness, coughing and aggravation of respiratory issues, but also accumulate in the body and harm the body’s tissues.

Police enforcement of the deadline for bursting crackers was visible in a few places like Marine Drive, which incidentally recorded the highest noise levels (117 dB). Ashok Gupta, a resident of the area, said, “The firecrackers started quite late at around 9pm and continued till 10:30pm, after which the police did a good job. This time around it was half the usual strength, and the AQI was not the worst.”