{"id":23901,"date":"2023-11-12T17:49:34","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T17:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/new-delhi-skies-smoky-as-diwali-revellers-defy-firecracker-ban-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-11-12T17:49:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-12T17:49:34","slug":"new-delhi-skies-smoky-as-diwali-revellers-defy-firecracker-ban-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/new-delhi-skies-smoky-as-diwali-revellers-defy-firecracker-ban-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"New Delhi skies smoky as Diwali revellers defy firecracker ban | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nNEW DELHI:
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A toxic haze began to circulate in New Delhi on Sunday as people in the city of 20 million, which has struggled with heavy pollution recently, defied a ban on firecrackers on the night of Diwali, the annual Hindu festival of light.<\/p>\n

Smoke plumes were visible across the sky as revellers let off firecrackers in the evening to mark the country’s biggest festival.<\/p>\n

Every year government authorities or India’s Supreme Court impose bans on firecrackers – but only rarely do those bans appear to be enforced.<\/p>\n

The Air Quality Index (AQI) across all 40 monitoring stations in the capital averaged 219 on a scale of 500, according to the federal pollution control board data, indicating “poor” conditions that can affect most people on prolonged exposure.<\/p>\n

The AQI data also showed that the concentration of “PM2.5” poisonous particulate matter in a cubic metre of air was around 100 micrograms per cubic meter – 20 times higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended maximum.<\/p>\n

Globally, air pollution was the worst in India’s eastern city of Kolkata, while Delhi was the fifth-most polluted, according to Swiss group IQAir.<\/p>\n

Read also:\u00a0New Delhi plans to make rain to tackle ‘hazardous’ smog<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Doctors say the air quality is likely to worsen on Monday as smoke from firecrackers lingers in the air, potentially causing itchy eyes and irritation in the throat.<\/p>\n

“I can see my patients are getting distressed. As a society we have not understood the value of clean air,” said Desh Deepak, a senior consultant at Delhi’s Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.<\/p>\n

Some Hindus resent the Diwali firecracker bans, which they see as an attempt to interfere with them observing their religious festivals.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the day, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai had urged citizens to steer clear of firecrackers to prevent citizens from having breathing problems later.<\/p>\n

Just before the weekend, a spell of rain had brought some relief to the city, where the AQI dipped below 160 after hovering around the 400-500 level over the past week.<\/p>\n

The world’s most polluted capital typically experiences heavy smog in the winter months as particulate matter gets trapped in the cold air, leading to spikes in cases of respiratory distress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n