The Indian capital topped charts as the world’s most-polluted city after firecrackers from Diwali celebrations pushed air quality to dangerous levels.
The Indian capital topped charts as the world’s most-polluted city after firecrackers from Diwali celebrations pushed air quality to dangerous levels.
India’s capital, home to more than 30 million people, is regularly ranked as having poor quality air
A thick layer of smog shrouded New Delhi on Friday, after revelers celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, flouted a ban on firecrackers.
The air quality index stood at over 345 shortly after dawn, according to Swiss firm IQ Air, driving pollution in the sprawling Indian capital to “hazardous.” It also put New Delhi at the top of a real-time list as the world’s most-polluted city, above Lahore in neighboring Pakistan.
In recent years, authorities in New Delhi have outlawed the use and sale of traditional firecrackers during Diwali and have urged people to instead celebrate the light festival with more environmentally friendly options.
HealthIndia
India’s New Delhi cloaked in smog after Diwali celebrations
The Indian capital topped charts as the world’s most-polluted city after firecrackers from Diwali celebrations pushed air quality to dangerous levels.
India’s capital, home to more than 30 million people, is regularly ranked as having poor quality air
A thick layer of smog shrouded New Delhi on Friday, after revelers celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, flouted a ban on firecrackers.
The air quality index stood at over 345 shortly after dawn, according to Swiss firm IQ Air, driving pollution in the sprawling Indian capital to “hazardous.” It also put New Delhi at the top of a real-time list as the world’s most-polluted city, above Lahore in neighboring Pakistan.
New Delhi authorities have banned the sale and use of traditional firecrackers during Diwali in recent years, urging people to celebrate the light festival with more eco-friendly alternatives.
The ban has proven difficult to enforce and is often flouted.
The measure has drawn criticism from certain Hindu groups who claim it makes it difficult for them to celebrate the light festival honoring the Hindu goddess Lakshmi.
Authorities, meanwhile, say the ban aims to save lives.
In many areas on Friday, levels of deadly particulate matter — that can lodge deep in the lungs and cause a number of health problems — surged to well over the daily maximum considered safe by the World Health Organization.
According to the AFP news agency, police in New Delhi seized nearly two tons of fireworks in the leadup to this year’s Diwali, but revelers could still travel to neighboring states to buy them.
