Delhi air quality turns hazardous on the next day of Diwali

New Delhi: The air quality of Delhi turned toxic on Monday as the ban on firecrackers was violated in several areas of Delhi as people celebrated Diwali on Sunday.

Several areas across the national capital recorded AQI of more than 500 which is termed hazardous.

In NCR, the AQI levels were more than 400 in Noida while it was between 200-300 in Gurugram.

Despite the national capital recording its best air quality on Diwali day in eight years, pollution levels rose on the next morning due to low night temperatures and sporadic burning of firecrackers though there is a ban on their manufacture, storage, sale and use within the city. 

There was bursting of firecrackers is several parts of the national capital since evening.

One of the most popular Hindu festivals, Diwali is associated with the day Lord Ram is believed to have returned to Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman after defeating Ravana during his 14 years in exile and is seen as a celebration of the victory of good over evil.

People burst firecrackers in Shahpur Jat and Hauz Khas area. Several people were seen gathering at the park of the locality for bursting crackers.

The intensity of bursting firecrackers increased after 4 pm, but it was comparatively lesser than the last year.

Not many people were seen venturing out of their houses in and around the locality, except a few.

Till 7.30 pm, the intensity of bursting firecrackers was less in Greater Kailash and Chittaranjan Park area. It is expected that people will burst firecrackers after performing puja, people in the locality said.

In the Chhatarpur locality of south Delhi, sounds of firecrackers being burst could be heard from 6 pm onwards.

Many shopkeepers in the area were seen flouting the ban and selling small firecrackers to children.

Firecrackers were also burst by some people in south Delhi's East of Kailash area.

From 6:30 pm onwards, intermittent noise of firecrackers going off in the distance could be heard from households. While some went off with low intensity, a few other firecrackers produced booming sounds.

Meanwhile, very few firecrackers were burst in the Lalita Park area of Laxmi Nagar till 7:30 pm. Locals said the intensity may go up later in the night.

The effect was moderate in several other areas of east Delhi.

However, the firecrackers being burst this year was reportedly negligible when compared to the last year, according to residents in these localities.

The Supreme Court on November 7 had said that it order banning firecrackers containing barium binds every state and is not just limited to the Delhi-NCR region, which is reeling under severe air pollution.