Delhi air quality dips as thousands defy Diwali firecracker ban

DPA, 15TH NOVEMBER, 2020-Pollution levels soared in the Indian capital and surrounding regions of northern India on Sunday, a day after thousands of people defied a ban on firecrackers to mark Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

New Delhi residents woke to a thick smog as firecracker emissions added to already high levels of pollution brought on by crop stubble burning in the region.

Air quality index levels at most monitoring stations in and around the city were in the severe category, with PM2.5 levels hovering around the 500 mark.

That is more than 20 times the limit deemed safe by the World Health Organization (WHO), and is roughly the equivalent of smoking 25 cigarettes a day in terms of the damage to people’s health.