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Pollution in the Indian capital Delhi surpassed the security limit on 66 occasions Thursday, enveloping the city with toxic fumes the next morning, after millions of firecrackers exploded for the Hindu Diwali festival.
Observers from the Delhi government showed that the density of fine pollutants – small enough to escape the body's natural defenses and cross the blood-brain barrier – reached 1,665 at Anand Vihar, a central district. The safety limit set by the World Health Organization for pollutants of this size is 25.
Images from all over Delhi showed that it was covered with a thick mist that slowed traffic and engulfed the city's most famous landmarks. Health officials warned that the air could cause short-term headaches and shortness of breath and that it was associated with heart disease, chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, a decline in cognitive and long-term obesity.
In addition to swapping candies and lighting traditional lamps, the fight against toxic fog has become an annual feature of the Diwali festival in Delhi and other major Indian cities, despite attempts to the Indian Supreme Court to limit the use of cookies during the season.
Last year, the court banned the use of crackers in Delhi as a lawsuit. This year, he limited their use to a two-hour window and said that only "green" crackers, supposed to emit less pollution and noise, would be allowed.
In both years, Delhi residents flouted the restrictions, and crackers could still be heard in parts of the city on Thursday morning. A research group, Urban Emissions, estimated that five million kilograms of fireworks had been erupted, as in 2017.
Delhi police said they seized more than 600 kg of firecrackers from all over the city, registered 120 criminal cases and arrested 28 people the previous day.
"It's a tradition," said Gopal, 40, a fitness instructor based in Chattourpur, south of Delhi, who blew up crackers with his kids on Wednesday night. "Lord Ram has come home after 14 years and we celebrate it with salty biscuits, sweets and so on."
He added that people elsewhere had used fireworks to celebrate events such as New Year's Eve. "We only use it for a day and it can be allowed," Gopal said. "It's not good if we do not celebrate our tradition of more than 4000 years."
Talk shows in the country debated whether the banning of firecrackers was against Indian religious rights. Some argue that firecrackers cause a short-term spike in an environment already dangerously polluted by vehicles, industrial emissions, construction sites and seasonal fires. crop residues by farmers in neighboring states.
Pollution levels in the week leading up to Wednesday were 25 times above the safety limit, mainly due to farm fires in Haryana and Punjab states, which formed a cloud of smoke over the north of India, which "extends over hundreds, even thousands of kilometers to 30 km wide," said Josh Apte, an assistant professor at the University of Texas, who studies the quality of the # 39; air.
There is growing recognition that poor air quality is a regional problem that affects even more the cities of northern India than Delhi. and that the pollution of the capital is exacerbated by unfortunate geography.
"If the quantities of emissions were the same in Berlin and Delhi, Berlin would have better air quality just because it's a windy city," said Siddharth Singh, author of the new book on the crisis, The Great Smog of India.
He said that overcrowding, resulting in an increase in the number of vehicles and buildings, was the main cause of the deterioration of air quality, but that Delhi was also pleased by the combination of low wind speeds and surrounding mountains that trapped air.
"Human activity generates the largest part of the air emissions stock, but the geographical reality is that emissions from human activity will have a much greater impact in Delhi. only in other cities. "
After several Sri Lankan cricketers have vomited on the grounds of a Delhi stadium earlier this year, the impact of air on the athletes and the potential for sporting event relocation outside the city have increased.
Atul Chauhan, a professional badminton player based in Delhi, said his team had just stopped training this week and was spending time inside their purified homes.
"We have an upcoming tournament right now, we should train like hell, but by that time it is better to stay at home than training," said Chauhan, 26.
"By playing now, I am tired in less than 20 minutes, even if I have the stamina of more than an hour. It's as if something is in your eyes, you can not see properly. And when the steering wheel reaches 300 km / h, you can not see it properly. "
