Nearly 20 million residents of India’s capital, New Delhi, woke up on Wednesday to find themselves breathing the most polluted air of any major city in the world, just a day after Diwali celebrations filled the sky with fireworks and firecrackers.
According to Swiss air quality monitoring firm IQAir, the city’s PM2.5 concentration, fine particulate matter that penetrates deep into the lungs, soared to more than 40 times the World Health Organization’s recommended annual limit.
While Delhi is no stranger to toxic air, pollution levels typically worsen during the winter months when farmers in neighboring states burn crop residue to prepare their fields for the next planting season.
This week’s sharp decline in air quality followed the Diwali festival, a time when the night sky is illuminated by fireworks, but also choked with smoke.
The festival’s firecrackers emit sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and harmful heavy metals, all of which contribute to the city’s worsening smog.
Authorities first banned the production, sale, and use of firecrackers in 2020 due to the city’s persistent pollution problem. This year, the Supreme Court allowed only so-called “green” firecrackers, advertised as less harmful, to be used within limited hours.
However, residents say the rules were widely ignored, with fireworks continuing late into the night and traditional, more polluting crackers still available.
“Year on year, it goes from bad to worse,” said Anushka Singh, a 30-year-old graphic designer. She explained that she usually stays indoors during Diwali to comfort her frightened dog through the endless blasts that echo into the early morning hours.
She added that her throat turns scratchy and her eyes sting whenever she steps outside the following day.
“Living in Delhi is a pain… I just wish that given the decades of data we would at least have stricter rules, ones that are actually implemented,” Singh said.
Chandra Tandon, a 52-year-old shop owner, admitted that bursting crackers is part of the festive spirit but acknowledged the toll it takes on residents.
“Bursting crackers is part of the fun and happens once a year,” she said, “but it becomes difficult for people who must endure the aftermath. I was breathing in those fumes throughout and it’s definitely not good. It would be good if we left the crackers burning to the kids… If you’ve lived in Delhi long enough, you know how bad it gets every year with the pollution. So, adults at least should do their part.”
A Deepening Crisis
Despite being the seat of India’s federal government, Delhi has struggled for years to clean up its air. Authorities have experimented with various measures, including spraying water on roads, restricting vehicles through an odd-even license plate rule, and even installing two “smog towers” in 2018 at a cost of 200 million rupees ($2.4 million).
Yet experts say inconsistent enforcement and poor coordination have hampered progress. Meanwhile, India faces the dual challenge of tackling pollution while trying to sustain its rapidly growing economy and meet the energy demands of 1.4 billion citizens.
As of Wednesday, three Indian cities ranked among the world’s ten most polluted, according to IQAir’s global tracker: New Delhi at the top, Kolkata in fourth place, and Mumbai at number ten.
The grim ranking underscores a worsening reality for millions, that for many in India’s capital, even the air they breathe after celebration comes at a heavy price.
