Was SC's ban on firecracker sale in Delhi-NCR successful?
The Supreme Court on October 9 banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR till October 31. "Let's try out at least one Diwali without firecrackers," observed a Supreme Court bench headed by justice AK Sikri, as it brought back the November 2016 ban on sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. The apex court’s idea was to test whether or not firecrackers really add to the overall levels of pollution in the capital.
Did Delhi manage to pass this acid test?
According to reports, the rapid deterioration of the air quality started around 7pm and online indicators of the pollution monitoring stations showed Delhi suffering "very poor" air quality on Diwali night.
According to a Hindustan Times report, this year's was Delhi’s cleanest Diwali in three years. A comparitively clean Diwali, however, does not mean lesser air pollution, partly because, despite the ban on sale of firecrackers, Delhi's Diwali night was not a silent one, punctuated with many, many loud bangs and bright sparkles.
The report adds that the general quaity of air worsened on October 20, the morning after Diwali. The overall PM 2.5 in Delhi hit “severe” levels, with a reading of 574 ug/m3, and PM 10 touching "critical levels" of 517 ug/m3, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
But is Diwali, once again, just incidental to the air pollution?
In 2016, the ideal PM (particulate matter) of 10 had reached toxic levels of 999 (more than 10 times higher than what is considered safe to breathe). The PM 2.5 rose to 743. And even though this steep rise in pollution levels happened suspiciously close to Diwali celebrations, the environment ministry attributes the sudden spike to four main factors that do not include firecrackers.
Visuals of #smog from #Delhi's Vijay Chowk pic.twitter.com/5d7S1ZViP7
— ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2017
Visuals of #Smog from Delhi's RK Puram pic.twitter.com/xifZDxIXwB
— ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2017
Delhi: Visuals of #Smog from NH 24 near Pandav Nagar pic.twitter.com/N1beGXWzJU
— ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2017
“It has been observed that open burning of solid waste in and around Delhi, vehicular emissions in Delhi, dust by the roadside and around construction sites in Delhi and stubble burning of crop residue in neighbouring states of Delhi are major contributors to pollution in Delhi,” said the environment ministry in a press release.
A 2015 Greenpeace report claims that round the year, the Indian metros, particularly Delhi, have very high quantities of pollutants in the air. The report adds that the average year-round air pollutant levels in Delhi were more than five times the safe levels specified by India and 10 times higher than the limits specified by WHO.
The report identified construction and vehicular traffic as the two largest contributors of pollution. Burning of paddy husk in nearby states such as Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, and construction dust, are equally big factors.
On October 19, Diwali night, huge spike in air pollution was noticed at different spots in the city, reported Hindustan Times. Anand Vihar, had the highest PM10 reading at 2,402 microgram per cubic metre, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee real-time monitoring. RK Puram, during the night, had PM10 levels hitting 1,179 and PM2.5 hitting 878. In Punjabi Bagh, PM10 levels reached 1,600.
The permissible limit of PM10 and PM2.5 are 100 and 60 microgram per cubic metre. Aair Quality Index (AQI) level from 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor, and 401 and above is considered severe.
The AQI this year even at "very poor", is an improvement from last year's "severe", noted Business Today. But ultimatley it is data to be released today evening by the Delhi DPCC that will tell how Delhi fared this Diwali.