Delhi Air Pollution Reaches Hazardous Levels After Diwali Fireworks

Air Quality Deterioration Post-Diwali

• 🌃 Parts of India's capital, New Delhi, were barely visible due to hazardous air pollution levels following Diwali celebrations.
• 🎆 People set off fireworks to celebrate the festival, with some flouting limited legal use of green crackers which have fewer emissions.
• ⏱️ Reuters witnesses observed fireworks being set off outside the allotted times.

PM2.5 Levels and Health Risks

• 📊 According to IQ Air, the resulting PM2.5 pollutants reached 442, the highest levels of any major city globally.
• ⚠️ This level is 59 times higher than the World Health Organization's recommended annual guidelines.
• 🫁 PM2.5 particles can be carried into the lungs, causing serious breathing and cardiac problems.

Contributing Factors to Delhi's Smog

• 💨 In winter, heavy air traps construction dust, vehicle emissions, and smoke from agricultural fires, all contributing to thick smog.
• 😷 Many of Delhi's 20 million residents suffer from respiratory illnesses due to the persistent poor air quality.
• 📈 India's government rated the air quality as very poor after Diwali and predicted the bad air would persist for days.