Delhi Air Quality turns severe again after two days of Diwali

Delhi Air Quality turns severe again just after two days of Diwali as the Air Quality Index (AQI) returned to the severe category in several areas of Delhi.

According to the IQAir report, the air quality index is extremely poor in Delhi with 373 which makes it the top most air polluted city in the world.

The bursting of firecrackers till late Sunday night while celebrating Diwali resulted in an increase in pollution levels of air. Now, Delhi has surpassed the quality index of Lahore and was the most pollutant city worldwide before. Lahore has come to second rank with 221 AQI less than Delhi.

Delhi Air Quality sparks blame game among politicians

Even as Delhi has been suffering from hazardous pollution in recent weeks, politicians from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) are blaming each other.

Shehzad Poonawalla, a BJP politician, said of Delhi pollution criticized Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP government’s performance. He said once again, Delhi has become a gas chamber today. Arvind previously blamed the 2018 drought on stubble burning in Punjab. Approximately 2600 incidents of stubble burning have occurred in Punjab in the previous two days.

Shehzad questioned what the AAP government in Punjab did to put a stop to this. The primary causes of pollution in Delhi are internal. What steps were taken to reduce traffic pollution and dust? There was no consideration given to the causes of pollution within Delhi.

#WATCH | On pollution in Delhi, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla says, "Once again, Delhi has become a gas chamber today… Arvind Kejriwal used to blame stubble burning in Punjab as the main reason in 2018… Nearly 2600 cases of stubble burning have occurred in Punjab in the last… pic.twitter.com/D8yPt86vCc
— ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2023

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However, AAP politician and Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Raj accused the BJP of encouraging Delhi people to disregard the Supreme Court’s ban on bursting firecrackers.

The Supreme Court of India banned the use of conventional firecrackers to reduce air and noise pollution in 2018. According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) report, PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels on Diwali increased by 45% and 33% on Diwali compared to the previous year.

PM refers to fine particulate matter that are toxic particles. PM 2.5 has particles of size 2.5 microns or less than 2.5. While PM 10 contains particles of size 10 microns. It is a matter of concern because it makes the air unhealthy.