This year, Delhi is less polluted post Diwali

Says govt, citing drop in AQI—from 462 last Diwali to 323 on Tuesday

This year, Delhi is less polluted post Diwali

Jama Masjid shrouded in a thick layer of smog, a day after Diwali, in New Delhi, on Tuesday. Pic/PTI

The national capital saw a 30 per cent drop in incidents of bursting of firecrackers on Diwali this year as against last year and recorded its best air quality for the day after the festival in five years, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Tuesday.

The air quality index (AQI) stood at 323 on Tuesday (the day after Diwali) as compared to 462 last year, which means the “air pollution declined by over 30 per cent”, he said. The AQI on the day after Diwali stood at 390 in 2018, 368 in 2019 and 435 in 2020, he added.

“People of Delhi were very thoughtful on Diwali this year and I want to thank them. Today, the pollution level is the lowest in five years... But, the AQI of 323 is still worrying and tells us that air pollution will increase amid low temperatures in the coming days,” Rai said.

Also Read: Delhi air quality poor despite cracker ban; BJP says stubble burning responsible, calls out AAP

Rai had last week said that bursting of firecrackers on Diwali in Delhi will attract a jail term of up to six months and a fine of R200. On Monday, however, he did not say anything about penalising those who burst firecrackers.

Hospitals in Delhi also saw fewer people coming in with respiratory illnesses this year. Doctors, however, warned that it is too early to reach a definitive conclusion about the prevalence of respiratory illness post-Diwali since people tend to come to hospitals only when their condition worsens.

A day after Diwali, several parts of Punjab and Haryana recorded AQI in the ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ categories. Gurugram in Haryana and Ludhiana in Punjab reported their respective AQI at 313 and 269, respectively, at 10.10 am on Tuesday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s data.

435
Delhi’s AQI a day after Diwali festival in 2020

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