Diwali 2016 v/s 2017 : An Overview
There is no doubt in the fact that Diwali is the biggest festival in India and with a population of about 1.3 billion, it is one of the biggest festivals of the world too. Truly the homecoming of Lord Rama is marked by the homecoming of happiness, prosperity, love, faith and obviously the ever despised gas chamber like conditions.
Post Diwali 2016, we witnessed what wikipedia calls "The Great Delhi Smog". The Indian Capital was breaking records with its severe pollution levels, choking the citizens, infants and the animals. In 2016 November, the national capital took shape of a gas chamber with particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5 soaring to over eight times the safe limit. Cool breezy November mornings turned to hazy, gloomy and smoggy ones. PM10 levels were recorded at severe level of 831.6 and PM2.5 at 624.2. The World Health Organisation recommends that the PM2.5 is kept below 10 as an annual average. Exposure to average annual concentrations above 35 is associated with a 15% higher long-term mortality risk. India's Environment Ministry declared burning of solid waste and crops, dust from construction sites and vehicular emissions as major contributors to the worsened conditions. Festivities are accompanied by a greater number of cars on the streets, pumping harmful oxides into the atmosphere which further degrades the air quality.
The Indian Government declared the severe level of toxic air pollution as an Emergency. The condition had degraded to a level that the government urged the citizens not to step out in the open. Higher levels of air pollution is extremely harmful for children and infants leading to schools being shut for 3 straight days. The construction work was ordered to be stopped and a coal powered thermal plant was also shut. The condition had severed to a level that large vacuum pumps were deployed to get rid of the extra dust on the roads.
The fine PM2.5 particles can reach deep in the blood and breach the blood-brain barrier. They can be absorbed into the bloodstream causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Hospitals reported increased admissions related to respiratory ailments in which India ranks first with 159 deaths out of a 100,000 people in 2012 according to WHO.
Diwali wasn't to be blamed completely for this. A NASA forecast showed high levels of 'fires and thermal anomalies' in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. As per an NYT report, farmers are burning around 32 million tons of leftover straw from the previous harvest. Towards the end of October, farmers begin the process of burning the paddy stubble which leads to plumes of smoke, blackening the skies. A drop in wind movement and a surge in humidity is also responsible for the fact that the pollutants and the menacing particulate matter stay close to the surface and do not disperse.
An year passed and with Diwali 2017 nearing, the Supreme Court banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi NCR, keeping in mind the choking citizens, the yesteryear. Citizens of Delhi woke up to a better air quality, the morning after Diwali. (Better, only if compared to the last year). However, the air quality was still far from satisfactory. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, the levels of PM10 and PM2.5 in Delhi on 20th October were 'poor' and 'very poor' respectively compared to 'severe' the previous year. The level of PM10 was 256 and PM2.5 was 154 - over 2.5 times the satisfactory levels which shot to 8 times in 2016. The satisfactory limit pf PM10 and 2.5 is 100 and 60 respectively.
While it is difficult to quantify the immediate effects of the ban on sale of firecrackers, the residents throughout the capital felt that the beginning was promising with neighbourhoods reporting much lesser noise and smoke. Now whether the dip in the particulate matter concentration is due to the ban in sale of crackers or not, is yet to be decided. But the problem is still grave as the air quality index is still in 'very poor' range which means that people may suffer from respiratory illness on a prolonged exposure and if the air quality dips further it might again cross the 'severe' mark which means that there is a risk to even those with sound health conditions and the ones with ailments will be severely affected. Though the step taken by the highest court in India has proved to be of great help, the condition of the capital is yet not perfect and the residents are still under the risk of a very poor air quality which is hoped to get better in the coming years with increasing awareness. Overall, this Diwali was more of a 'Festival of Lights' than a 'Festival of Smoke'.
Post Diwali 2016, we witnessed what wikipedia calls "The Great Delhi Smog". The Indian Capital was breaking records with its severe pollution levels, choking the citizens, infants and the animals. In 2016 November, the national capital took shape of a gas chamber with particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5 soaring to over eight times the safe limit. Cool breezy November mornings turned to hazy, gloomy and smoggy ones. PM10 levels were recorded at severe level of 831.6 and PM2.5 at 624.2. The World Health Organisation recommends that the PM2.5 is kept below 10 as an annual average. Exposure to average annual concentrations above 35 is associated with a 15% higher long-term mortality risk. India's Environment Ministry declared burning of solid waste and crops, dust from construction sites and vehicular emissions as major contributors to the worsened conditions. Festivities are accompanied by a greater number of cars on the streets, pumping harmful oxides into the atmosphere which further degrades the air quality.The Indian Government declared the severe level of toxic air pollution as an Emergency. The condition had degraded to a level that the government urged the citizens not to step out in the open. Higher levels of air pollution is extremely harmful for children and infants leading to schools being shut for 3 straight days. The construction work was ordered to be stopped and a coal powered thermal plant was also shut. The condition had severed to a level that large vacuum pumps were deployed to get rid of the extra dust on the roads.
The fine PM2.5 particles can reach deep in the blood and breach the blood-brain barrier. They can be absorbed into the bloodstream causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Hospitals reported increased admissions related to respiratory ailments in which India ranks first with 159 deaths out of a 100,000 people in 2012 according to WHO.
Diwali wasn't to be blamed completely for this. A NASA forecast showed high levels of 'fires and thermal anomalies' in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. As per an NYT report, farmers are burning around 32 million tons of leftover straw from the previous harvest. Towards the end of October, farmers begin the process of burning the paddy stubble which leads to plumes of smoke, blackening the skies. A drop in wind movement and a surge in humidity is also responsible for the fact that the pollutants and the menacing particulate matter stay close to the surface and do not disperse.
An year passed and with Diwali 2017 nearing, the Supreme Court banned the sale of firecrackers in Delhi NCR, keeping in mind the choking citizens, the yesteryear. Citizens of Delhi woke up to a better air quality, the morning after Diwali. (Better, only if compared to the last year). However, the air quality was still far from satisfactory. According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences, the levels of PM10 and PM2.5 in Delhi on 20th October were 'poor' and 'very poor' respectively compared to 'severe' the previous year. The level of PM10 was 256 and PM2.5 was 154 - over 2.5 times the satisfactory levels which shot to 8 times in 2016. The satisfactory limit pf PM10 and 2.5 is 100 and 60 respectively.
While it is difficult to quantify the immediate effects of the ban on sale of firecrackers, the residents throughout the capital felt that the beginning was promising with neighbourhoods reporting much lesser noise and smoke. Now whether the dip in the particulate matter concentration is due to the ban in sale of crackers or not, is yet to be decided. But the problem is still grave as the air quality index is still in 'very poor' range which means that people may suffer from respiratory illness on a prolonged exposure and if the air quality dips further it might again cross the 'severe' mark which means that there is a risk to even those with sound health conditions and the ones with ailments will be severely affected. Though the step taken by the highest court in India has proved to be of great help, the condition of the capital is yet not perfect and the residents are still under the risk of a very poor air quality which is hoped to get better in the coming years with increasing awareness. Overall, this Diwali was more of a 'Festival of Lights' than a 'Festival of Smoke'.
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