According to a report by News18, close to five million kg of firecrackers were burst in Delhi on Diwali despite a Supreme Court directive limiting the bursting of crackers to only two hours.

The point to be noted here is that, this is the same amount of firecrackers burst last year.

Urban Emissions, a research group reported that burning of firecrackers on Diwali led to an emission of 1,50,000 kg of PM 2.5. 

Soon after, the air quality in Delhi deteriorated further, falling into ‘severe plus emergency’ category.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had allowed burning of only ‘green firecrackers’ from 8 PM to 10 PM.

Talking to News18, a senior official of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, said:

“The Supreme Court’s orders were not followed—that much is clear. What is even worse is that it doesn’t appear the Delhi Police or police forces in Uttar Pradesh or Haryana were serious about following through and making arrests as they had said they will.”

He added,

“We have repeatedly received information that while in some places the fire crackers weren’t lit before the stipulated time, people kept burning them through the night. The dip in air quality also mirrors this.”

With the Supreme Court’s orders being flouted openly, Delhi is now left choking and coughing with no improvement in the air quality.