About 41 cities, mostly in north and central India, experienced “poor” to “severe” air quality on Nov. 8, 2018, a day after Diwali, according to government data.
Seven cities, including Noida, Faridabad, Patna and Lucknow, recorded worse air than Delhi, according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) bulletin, which records a 24-hour average and is released every day at 4 pm by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). AQI is a number used by governments to communicate to the public how polluted the air is. AQI of 100 is considered acceptable in India.
The plunging air quality after Diwali also took on religious overtones, with some arguing that a Hindu festival was being unfairly criticised and smoke from firecrackers is not the reason for Delhi's increased air pollution, and there is no evidence that the smoke had any long-term effects.
I wish you all very happy Diwali.
Let all #Hindus resolve today to defeat anti-#Bharat forces & convert India into #HinduRashtra the process for which gained momentum in 2014.
Today is also the day to burst #Firecrackers to show SC its place.#Diwalihttps://t.co/kaMY18YVvqPIC 1: AQI on 5th November (two days before Diwali)
PIC 2: AQI on 8th November (today)
Today's AQI is almost half of what it was on 5th November. Are we still blaming Diwali and crackers for air pollution in Delhi?
Courts, media, activists and govts should must take note. pic.twitter.com/TVcc9DvgNS50 lakh kg of firecrackers were burst in Delhi on Diwali despite a Supreme Court directive. What are we gifting our children. Death! #MasterStroke
However, studies suggest that exposure to even brief spikes in pollution could increase mortality.
Short-term exposure to air pollution was seen to cause premature deaths among the elderly, IndiaSpend reported on January 19, 2018. For each 10 µg/m3 daily increase in PM 2.5, the daily mortality rate increased by 1.05%, according to this December 2017 study by the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University.
Delhi, currently regarded the world's most polluted city, recorded “very poor” air with an AQI of 390, as per the CPCB bulletin.
World's three most polluted cities at the moment are all in India.
And, you guessed it, Delhi is the worst city for air pollution on Earth. pic.twitter.com/SFUIOrq6QqWazirpur in central Delhi was the most polluted area in the city with particulate matter (PM) 2.5 readings crossing 4,000 µg/m3 at 2.05 AM on November 8--66 times the national safe air standard of 60 µg/m3. PM 2.5 are air-borne particles 30 times finer than a human hair and can sicken or kill people by entering human lungs.
After 2am, Wazirpur still the most polluted in Delhi on Diwali according to DPCC real-time data. The finer PM2.5 clocked 4591mg/m3, more than 76 times normal standards, while PM10 data is missing @TOIDelhi #HappyDiwali #AirQuality #Delhi #DelhiPollution pic.twitter.com/MgitnbNAjq
Firecrackers Worsen Already Toxic Air
Firecrackers on Diwali evening added to already deteriorating pollution levels across Delhi. In many areas of India's capital, monitors showed pollution levels peaking between 8-10 pm, during which time the Supreme Court allowed firecrackers.
I think we can safely say that the restriction of fireworks to 8-10 pm has only confirmed the huge impact they can have on local air quality, and reinforces the call for a complete ban. Look at those spikes just around that time! pic.twitter.com/Vx70JH9Gvy
About 5 million kg of firecrackers were estimated to have been burnt in Delhi this Diwali, despite a Supreme Court ban. The city has not seen a single day of safe air for more than a month, as per IndiaSpend's analysis of air quality data of Delhi's 37 automatic air quality monitoring stations between October 1-November 6, 2018.
In terms of 24-hour averages, about 41 cities in India recorded poor-to-severe level AQIs.
Faridabad recorded the worst air with the 24-hour average AQI reaching 455, followed by Noida with an AQI of 432. Lucknow, Patna and Ghaziabad recorded “severe” air with the AQI at 412, 427 and 422, respectively. An AQI of 100 is considered acceptable.
Northern Cities Will Continue To Have Poor Air Quality
Most of the North Indian cities we mentioned are not likely to breathe safer air over three days to November 11, according to an-all India forecast of PM 2.5 levels by Urban Emissions, a non-profit research group. The air will clear up only after November 10, 2018, according to the forecast.
(Tripathi is a principal correspondent with IndiaSpend.)
This copy was published in a special arrangement with IndiaSpend
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