Delhiites woke up to a blanket of haze and smog on Monday morning after night of Diwali revelry and fireworks pushed the toxic pollutants in the city’s air to alarming highs. People commuting to their offices early morning posted photographs of smog-covered lights with accompanying texts complaining of “zero visibility”.
Various monitoring agencies including Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Central Pollution Control Board, Pune-based SAFAR and Centre for Science and Environment were unanimous about the severity of the air quality in the city.
Their data revealed that Anand Vihar (East Delhi), RK Puram (South Delhi) and Punjabi Bagh (West Delhi) had pollution levels critically high on Diwali night. The pollution level was reported up to 17 times higher than the normal. Noise pollution, which was monitored at five locations in the city, was marginally higher than last year as it ranged between 66.1 decibel(A) and 75.8 dB(A), while last year, it had varied from 65.9 dB(A) to 74.8 dB(A).
Many said the air smelt of charred firecrackers and that it was difficult to breathe. Smoke from firecrackers has choked the air and also affected visibility. In the capital itself, people woke up to smog with visibility up to 200 metres.
According to air quality monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board, PM 2.5 in Delhi went up to 999 micrograms per cubic metres (µg/m3) in the US Embassy area. In RK Puram, PM 2.5 went up to 643 µg/m3, which is more than ten times the safe limit of 60 µg/m3 and PM 10 stood at 999 µg/m3 against the safe limit of 100 µg/m3. Pollution peaks in the city during Diwali as a hazardous mix of noxious gases and pollutants hang very close to the surface due to low temperature and near-stagnant wind movement.
Data from the central pollution monitoring agency showed that concentrations of PM 10 (coarser pollutants) was over 1,600 µg/m3 around 2 am in Delhi’s Anand Vihar, which is 16 times higher than the safe limit, and that of PM2.5 was recorded at 702 180 µg/m3 -- 14 times the safe limit. Higher level in the air of PM2.5 can cause respiratory diseases if one is subjected to prolonged exposure to unsafe levels.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain said,”Pollution level kaafi sheheron mein high hai. Delhi ke logon ka dhanyavad. Iss baar patakhe kum the...(Pollution level is high in many cities. Thanks to the people of Delhi. Firecrackers were fewer this year.”
“The level of pollutants showed an increase on Diwali night. The major changes observed after 7:00 pm when the fireworks started. Ambient Air Quality in Delhi was already saturated with the pollutants accumulated due to Trans-State Movement of pollutants. The cumulative effect of existing pollution load and pollutants release due to use of fireworks as well as adverse meteorological conditions like calm condition attributed to present situation,” said a Delhi Government’s Press statement.
According to officials, the general trend showed that these levels started rising suddenly around 9 pm on Diwali and continued to increase till 3 am. Even in the morning, at some places the pollution level is as much as 13 times higher than the acceptable limit.
The PM 2.5 level -- particulate matters with a size of less than 2.5 microns -- can reach the thinnest arteries of lungs in our body, should be under 60 µg/m3. But in RK Puram had a concentration of PM 2.5 ranging between 647-748 µg/m3. At 7 am on Monday, PM 2.5 value was at 421 µg/m3.
At RK Puram, PM 10 showed a maximum concentration of µg/m3 while that at Punjabi Bagh was over 1,500 µg/m3 for almost 6 hours.