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Diwali leaves Delhi wheezing in dangerously unhealthy air

New Delhi residents wake up under a blanket of smog darkening the city, the most dangerous air pollution of the year after Diwali revellers defied a fireworks ban.

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Diwali leaves Delhi wheezing in dangerously unhealthy air

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  1. Diwali leaves Delhi wheezing in dangerously unhealthy air

  2. New Delhi residents woke up on Friday under a blanket of smog darkening the city, the most dangerous air pollution of the year after Diwali revellers defied - as usual - a fireworks ban during India's annual Hindu festival of lights.

  3. New Delhi has the worst air quality of all world capitals, but even by its sorry standards Friday's reading - the morning after the end of Diwali - was extra bad, the price for celebrating India's biggest festival in the noisiest and smokiest way.

  4. The Air Quality Index (AQI) surged to 463 on a scale of 500 - the maximum recorded in 2021, indicating "severe" conditions that affect even healthy people let alone those with existing respiratory diseases. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

  5. The AQI measures the concentration of poisonous particulate matter PM2.5 in a cubic metre of air. In Delhi, a city of nearly 20 million people, the PM2.

  6. "The firecracker ban didn't seem to be successful in Delhi, which led to hazardous pollution levels adding on top of existing perennial sources," said Sunil Dahiya, analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

  7. Every year, either government authorities or India's Supreme Court slap a ban on firecrackers. But the bans only rarely appear to be enforced. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

  8. Making matters worse, Diwali is held in a period when farmers in New Delhi's neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana burn the stubble left after harvesting to prepare their fields for the next crop. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

  9. Delhi environment chief Gopal Rai said authorities planned to install 20 anti-smog guns to spray water into the air to help dilute the smog.

  10. A rare spell of clear skies in October due to intermittent rains and strong winds treated Delhi residents to their cleanest air in at least four years. read more.

  11. Indian governments are often accused of not doing enough to curb pollution as they prioritize economic growth to lift living standards in the world's second most populous country. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

  12. Toxic air kills more than a million people annually in India. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

  13. On the morning after the close of Diwali, thick smog turned daylight into dusk in and around Delhi, with car and building lights only barely penetrating the murk, and the ubiquitous detritus of firecrackers coating the ground. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

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