According to data, Lahore in Pakistan and Delhi were the two most polluted cities in the world on Diwali…reports Asian Lite News
On Monday, Delhi’s air quality deteriorated to “very poor” with maximum temperature reaching 31.2 degrees Celsius, slightly below the season’s normal.
According to data, Lahore in Pakistan and Delhi were the two most polluted cities in the world on Diwali.
According to the Swiss organisation IQAir, the air quality in Delhi on Diwali Monday became “very poor” due to an increase in the burning of stubble, the use of firecrackers, and relatively unfavourable climatic circumstances that permitted the accumulation of pollutants.
Meanwhile, a day after Diwali, Delhi was wrapped in a blanket of smog as the air quality on Tuesday remained in the “very poor” category with the overall air quality index (AQI) 323.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the AQI in the overall Delhi region was in the ‘very poor’ category at 323. However, in Lodhi Road, the AQI was in the ‘poor’ category at 273.
In the Delhi University area and Pusa the AQI remained in ‘very poor’ category at 365 and 322 respectively. Further, near IIT Delhi, the AQI was in ‘poor’ category at 280. At Mathura Road, the AQI was in the ‘very poor’ category at 322. Around Delhi airport, the AQI remained in the ‘very poor’ category at 354.
Meanwhile, firecracker waste was seen in various parts of Delhi and national capital region post-Diwali celebrations.
Pertinent to mention, Delhi government banned the production, storage, sale, and bursting of firecrackers this year as well and imposed fines and jail terms in case of violation.
In a bid to reduce vehicular pollution, the Delhi Government also announced the ‘Red Light On Gaadi Off’ campaign.
Under the campaign, public representatives and officials will motivate commuters to turn their vehicles off at red lights in a bid to curb vehicular pollution.
The air quality in the national capital is also affected because of stubble burning in surrounding Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan in the winter.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s government said last week that people who let off firecrackers during Diwali would face up to six months in jail, under a broader ban introduced to help combat extreme winter pollution.
Delhi is the world’s most polluted capital and its air becomes particularly bad from mid-December to February as heavy, cold air traps dust, vehicle emissions and smoke from burning crop stubble in states like Punjab and Haryana.
“Kejriwal’s minister had threatened to put those burning firecrackers in jail,” said Amit Malviya, who runs the BJP’s national information and technology department, posting a video of firecrackers lighting up the Delhi night sky.
“Where is Kejriwal who was trying to do such audacity with Hindus? Is there any prison that can accommodate so many people?”
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal posted two graphics on Twitter showing that Delhi’s air quality had improved in the last three years.
“Have we won the war against pollution and am I satisfied? Not at all,” Kejriwal said. “It is encouraging that we are no more the world’s most polluting city. It encourages us that we are on the right track.”