The Delhi government’s complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers, including green crackers, on Diwali, went up in smoke on Thursday, with citizens refusing to abide by the government order. The situation was not significantly different in the other states of the National Capital Region (NCR), despite near similar bans on the sale and bursting of crackers. And this year, like in many preceding ones, the administrations of states such as Punjab and Haryana have been loath to crack down on stubble-burning by farmers, who continue to flout orders banning the practice, sending noxious fumes towards NCR.
The Delhi government’s complete ban on the sale and bursting of firecrackers, including green crackers, on Diwali, went up in smoke on Thursday, with citizens refusing to abide by the government order. The situation was not significantly different in the other states of the National Capital Region (NCR), despite near similar bans on the sale and bursting of crackers. And this year, like in many preceding ones, the administrations of states such as Punjab and Haryana have been loath to crack down on stubble-burning by farmers, who continue to flout orders banning the practice, sending noxious fumes towards NCR.
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{{/usCountry}}The impact of such irresponsible behaviour on the Delhi-NCR’s air quality was immediate. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the 24-hour average concentration of lung-damaging PM2.5 in Delhi-NCR shot up from 243 micrograms per cubic metre at 6 pm on Thursday to 410 micrograms per cubic metre at 9 am on Friday, around seven times the safe limit of 60 micrograms per cubic metre. The PM10 levels crossed the 500 micrograms per cubic metre mark about 5 am on Friday. Delhi’s neighbouring cities of Faridabad (454), Greater Noida (410), Ghaziabad (438), Gurgaon (473), and Noida (456) also recorded severe air quality on Friday morning. An Air Quality Index between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. Air quality experts have been warning that emissions from firecrackers and farm fires, if unchecked, could exacerbate already unfavourable meteorological conditions — including slow winds and below-normal temperatures. This year, courtesy a delayed monsoon, farm fires have peaked around Diwali. And firecracker bans have proved ineffective.
Delhi was the most polluted capital city in the world in 2020 for the third consecutive year, according to the World Air Quality Report, 2020. It is clear that despite people being fined (for farm fires) or booked (for smuggling firecrackers), the political class and administrative machinery (including the police) have no capacity or intention to implement such bans in letter and spirit. And farmers and those celebrating Diwali with fireworks have simply refused to listen to reason. The Central and state governments now need to rethink what went wrong, and come up with a unified strategy for containing air pollution, including the Diwali spike.