'Shower of firecrackers' in India where the largest Hindu festival was held... air quality very poor

(Jakarta = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hyun-gyu Son = Recently, the air quality in the capital New Delhi was found to have deteriorated significantly to 'very poor' level due to fireworks to commemorate the largest Hindu festival in India.

According to AP, Reuters, and Bloomberg News on the 9th (local time), fireworks were held throughout the city in New Delhi, the capital, the night before to celebrate Diwali, the largest Hindu festival.

Diwali is a festival that means ‘light overcomes darkness’ and is held every year between October and November.

During the Diwali festival, Indians light candles and lamps and set off huge amounts of firecrackers in the belief that lighting more lights will bring greater luck.

The air quality index (AQI) recorded around 370 in several places in the city this morning as the fireworks that took place in the New Delhi area the previous day filled the air with smoke and fine dust.

India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) measures ultrafine dust (PM2.5) and fine dust (PM10) that cause cancer and classifies air pollution levels into six levels from 0 to 500.

Between 301 and 400 is level 5, ‘very poor’, and long-term exposure to this level of air quality increases the risk of developing respiratory diseases.

The AP reported that in some areas of New Delhi, levels exceeding 400, which is considered a 'serious' level, were recorded.

On this day, the PM2.5 concentration in the Mandir Marg area in New Delhi recorded 879㎍/㎥, and in some areas it exceeded 900㎍/㎥. This is 60 times the daily maximum recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) (15㎍/㎥).

Earlier this month, India's Supreme Court restricted the use of only 'low-emission firecrackers' designed to produce less pollutants during limited hours ahead of the Diwali festival.

However, in places such as New Delhi and Mumbai in western Maharashtra, India's economic center, this measure was ignored and the sound of firecrackers continued until late the night before.

According to IQAIR, a Swiss air quality analysis company, as of this morning, New Delhi was recorded as the third most polluted city in the world.

In India, there is a lot of exhaust emissions from old vehicles, coal-fired power plants and factories, and air pollution continues to worsen in rural areas due to burning of rice fields and incineration of waste.

The Lancet, one of the world's most authoritative medical journals, estimated that 3.8 million deaths in India from 2009 to 2019 were related to air pollution.

As a measure against winter air pollution, the Indian government mandated that 50% of government and private sector employees work from home in the Delhi metropolitan area, including New Delhi, from the 1st of this month to January 31st of next year and banned construction work that generates dust.