#delhi air quality index

[todayworldnews2k21]

Delhi’s air quality improves due to favourable winds

A view of India Gate covered in a layer of smog in New Delhi. File photo | Photo Credit: ANI The air quality in the national capital improved on Saturday (October 26, 2024) morning due to favourable winds even though the Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the ‘poor’ category. Also read: Air pollution 8 times WHO’s limit in Delhi At 9 am, Delhi’s AQI was recorded at 227, down from 281 on Friday…

[youthchronical]

Delhi govt. to start drive against burning of waste in open today

Vehicles in Delhi passing through a thick layer of smog on Tuesday afternoon. | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the Delhi government will launch a campaign on Wednesday to discourage open burning of waste. The Minister made the announcement after chairing a meeting on air pollution on Tuesday when the city’s overall air quality index (AQI) showed slight…

[webdesigncompanyindubai]

Amidst Rising Pollution Levels, Delhi Takes Swift Measures: Schools Closed, Construction Ban Implemented

[thoughtportal]

Canadian wildfire smoke moving through the Great Lakes region has greatly impacted air quality for Metro Detroit residents.

According to IQAir’s air quality index, which ranks the worst and best air quality around the world, Detroit has the second worst air quality as of Wednesday morning, with New York in third place.

Delhi, India was the only city ranked higher than Detroit and New York. An Air Quality Alert was issued for all of SE Michigan.

Smoke from Canada’s wildfires has been moving into the United States since last month. The most recent fires near Quebec have been burning for at least several days.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said hazy skies, reduced visibility and the odor of burning wood are likely, and that the smoke will linger for a few days in northern states.

Exposure to elevated fine particle pollution levels can affect the lungs and heart.

It’s a good time to put off that yard work and outdoor exercise. If you go out, consider wearing an N95 mask to reduce your exposure to pollutants.

Stay inside, keeping your doors, windows and fireplaces shut. It’s recommended that you run the air conditioning on a recirculation setting.

[evermoredeluxe]

i feel bad for people in new york because of the air quality but it reminded that the air quality index in delhi (capital of india) is casually a 242 and this is not unusual and people just deal w it ??

[mikeo56]

Princeton, N.J. — As I write this, the sun is a hazy reddish orange orb. The sky is an inky yellowish gray. The air has an acrid stench and leaves a faint metallic taste in my mouth. After 20 minutes outside, my head starts to ache, my nose burns, my eyes itch and my breathing becomes more labored. Streets are deserted. The ubiquitous lawn service companies with their machine mowers and whining gas-powered leaf blowers have disappeared, along with pedestrians, cyclists and joggers. Those who walk their dog go out briefly and then scamper back inside. N95 masks, as in the early days of the pandemic, are sold out, along with air purifiers. The international airports at Newark and Philadelphia have delayed or canceled flights.

I feel as if I am in a ghost town. Windows shut. Air conditioners on full blast. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is checked and rechecked. We are hovering around 300. The most polluted cities in the world have half that rate. Dubai (168). Delhi (164). Anything above 300 is classified as hazardous.

When will the hundreds of forest fires burning north of us in Canada — fires that have already consumed 10.9 million acres and driven 120,000 people from their homes — be extinguished? What does this portend? The wildfire season is only beginning. When will the air clear? A few days? A few weeks? 

What do you tell a terminal patient seeking relief? Yes, this period of distress may pass, but it’s not over. It will get worse. There will be more highs and lows and then mostly lows, and then death. But no one wants to look that far ahead. We live moment to moment, illusion to illusion. And when the skies clear we pretend that normality will return. Except it won’t. Climate science is unequivocal. It has been for decades. The projections and graphs, the warming of the oceans and the atmosphere, the melting of polar ice sheets and glaciers, rising sea levels, droughts and wildfires and monster hurricanes are already bearing down with a terrible and mounting fury on our species, and most other species, because of the hubris and folly of the human race. 

The worse it gets the more we retreat into fantasy. The law will solve it. The market will solve it. Technology will solve it. We will adapt. Or, for those who find solace in denial of a reality-based belief system, the climate crisis does not exist. The earth has always been like this. And besides, Jesus will save us. Those who warn of the looming mass extinction are dismissed as hysterics, Cassandras, pessimists. It can’t be that catastrophic.

At the inception of every war I covered, most people were unable to cope with the nightmare that was about to engulf them. Signs of disintegration surrounded them. Shootings. Kidnappings. The bifurcation of polarized extremes into antagonistic armed groups or militias. Hate speech. Political paralysis. Apocalyptic rhetoric. The breakdown of social services. Food shortages. Circumscribed daily existence. But the fragility of society is too emotionally fraught for most of us to accept. We endow the institutions and structures around us with an eternal permanence.

“Things whose existence is not morally comprehensible cannot exist,” Primo Levi, who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp, observed. 

I would return at night to Pristina in Kosovo after having been stopped by Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) rebels a few miles outside the capital. But when I described my experiences to my Kosovar Albanian friends — highly educated and multilingual — they dismissed them. “Those are Serbs dressed up like rebels to justify Serb repression,” they answered. They did not grasp they were at war until Serb paramilitary forces rounded them up at gunpoint, herded them into boxcars and shipped them off to Macedonia.

Complex civilizations eventually destroy themselves. Joseph Tainter in “The Collapse of Complex Societies,” Charles L. Redman in “Human Impact on Ancient Environments,” Jared Diamond in “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” and Ronald Wright in “A Short History of Progress,” detail the familiar patterns that lead to catastrophic collapse. We are no different, although this time we will all go down together. The entire planet. Those in the Global South who are least responsible for the climate emergency, will suffer first. They are already fighting existential battles to survive. Our turn will come. We in the Global North may hold out for a bit longer, but only a bit. The billionaire class is preparing its escape. The worse it gets, the stronger will be our temptation to deny the reality facing us, to lash out at climate refugees, which is already happening in Europe and along our border with Mexico, as if they are the problem. 

Wright, who calls industrial society “a suicide machine,” writes: 

Civilization is an experiment, a very recent way of life in the human career, and it has a habit of walking into what I am calling progress traps. A small village on good land beside a river is a good idea; but when the village grows into a city and paves over the good land, it becomes a bad idea. While prevention might have been easy, a cure may be impossible: a city isn’t easily moved. This human inability to foresee — or to watch out for — long-range consequences may be inherent to our kind, shaped by the millions of years when we lived from hand to mouth by hunting and gathering. It may also be little more than a mix of inertia, greed, and foolishness encouraged by the shape of the social pyramid. The concentration of power at the top of large-scale societies gives the elite a vested interest in the status quo; they continue to prosper in darkening times long after the environment and general populace begin to suffer.

We will frantically construct climate fortresses, like the great walled cities at the end of the Bronze Age before its societal collapse, a collapse so severe that not only did these cities fall into ruin, but writing itself in many places disappeared. Maybe a few of our species will linger on for a while. Or maybe rats will take over the planet and evolve into some new life form. One thing is certain. The planet will survive. It has experienced mass extinctions before. This one is unique only because our species engineered it. Intelligent life is not so intelligent. Maybe this is why, with all those billions of planets, we have not discovered an evolved species. Maybe evolution has built within it its own death sentence.

I accept this intellectually. I don’t accept it emotionally any more than I accept my own death. Yes, I know our species is almost certainly doomed — but notice, I say almost. Yes, I know I am mortal. Most of my life has already been lived. But death is hard to digest until the final moments of existence, and even then, many cannot face it. We are composed of the rational and the irrational. In moments of extreme distress we embrace magical thinking. We become the easy prey of con-artists, cult leaders, charlatans and demagogues who tell us what we want to hear. 

Disintegrating societies are susceptible to crisis cults that promise a return to a golden age. The Christian Right has many of the characteristics of a crisis cult. Native Americans, ravaged by genocide, the slaughter of the buffalo herds, the theft of their land and incarcerated in prisoner-of-war camps, clung desperately to the Ghost Dance. The Ghost Dance promised to drive away the white invaders and resurrect the warriors and buffalo herds. Instead, followers were mowed down by the U.S. Army with Hotchkiss MI875 mountain guns.

We must do everything in our power to halt carbon emissions. We must face the truth that the ruling corporate elites in the industrialized world will never extract us from fossil fuels. Only if these corporatists are overthrown — as proposed by groups such as Extinction Rebellion — and radical and immediate measures are taken to end the consumption of fossil fuel, as well as curtail the animal agriculture industry, will we be able to mitigate some of the worst effects of ecocide. But I don’t see this as likely, especially given the sophisticated forms of control and surveillance the global oligarchs have at their disposal.

The awful truth is that even if we halt all carbon emissions today there is so much warming locked into the oceans deep muddy floor and the atmosphere, that feedback loops will ensure climate catastrophe. Summer Arctic sea ice, which reflects 90 percent of solar radiation that comes into contact with it, will disappear. The Earth’s surface will absorb more radiation. The greenhouse effect will be amplified. Global warming will accelerate, melting the Siberian permafrost and disintegrating the Greenland ice sheet. 

Melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica “has increased fivefold since the 1990s, and now accounts for a quarter of sea-level rise,” according to a recent report funded by NASA and the European Space Agency. Continued sea level rise, the rate of which has doubled over three decades according to the World Meteorological Organization, is inevitable. Tropical rainforests will burn. Boreal forests will move northward. These and other feedback loops are already built into the ecosystem. We cannot stop them. Climate chaos, including elevated temperatures, will last for centuries. 

The hardest existential crisis we face is to at once accept this bleak reality and resist. Resistance cannot be carried out because it will succeed, but because it is a moral imperative, especially for those of us who have children. We may fail, but if we do not fight against the forces that are orchestrating our mass extinction, we become part of the apparatus of death.

Stop, stop, stop believing America is great. It isn't.

[merelygifted]

Air quality alert extended in Michigan because of Canadian wildfire haze. When conditions may improve

...  Michigan's unhealthy air on Wednesday came after Detroit's air quality on Tuesday was ranked the world's worst, according to one measure. IQAir’s Air Quality Index initially ranked Chicago first with an air quality index in the 170s, securing a spot in the unhealthy category of 151-200.

But late Tuesday, Detroit surpassed it at 203. Chengdu, China and Delhi, India placed third and fourth, according to the website late Tuesday. Toronto, Canada was fifth. IQAir works to fight air pollution, operates "the world's largest free real-time air quality information platform," according to its website.  ...

[cyarskj52]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Neighborhood Talk (@theneighborhoodtalk)

theneighborhoodtalk TNHT Intern: @breyonnabryant

_____________________________________________________

Neighbors, it appears there has been an air quality alert sent out in New York due to smoke from wildfires in Canada lingering over into the city. City officials are urging New Yorkers with heart or breathing issues to limit outdoor activities.

_____________________________________________________

There are currently 150 wildfires happening in east central Canada (Quebec) with 110 of them being deemed out of control. The forest fires began emerging a little over a month ago. Pictures and videos of bridges and buildings throughout the city surrounded in an orange-like haze are beginning to trend on social media platforms as the air quality index reached a 342 compared to its usual 100 index.

_____________________________________________________

New York has been listed as the most polluted state of any other major world city this past Wednesday as the air continues to get worse. Weather sources are now comparing the levels of air quality to that of India and New Delhi.

_____________________________________________________

As of right now, New York will reportedly continue under an Air Quality Health Advisory until Thursday morning due to wind patterns pushing the smoke further towards the city. Fox weather meteorologist Stephen McCloud tells us the city should start to see improvement in the air by Sunday night.

Sending love to the citizens of nyc, Canada, northeast and other parts of the country that are affected by this air pollution crisis.

[thefirsthogokage]

@adamsmasher: This put me in research mode.

So the AQI in Portland was indeed clocked at 516. Or, rather, I think an area around Portland that they called Portland clocked that high. Bend, Oregon, it would seem, while Portland top clocked in at 477 (that source is opb.org, Article: Oregon’s air is so hazardous it’s breaking records; By Monica Samayoa (OPB); Sept. 15, 2020 4:36 p.m.). I was curious how far Bend and Portland were from each other, so I mapped it:

Anywho, I remembered the scale only going up to 500 in the charts I'd seen, so I looked a little more.

Looks like the scale in the United States only goes up to 500 because it rarely gets above that here, but the scale goes higher in other countries, such as India.

In case the NY Times gets gate-keepy with the article, here it is in full:

Title: What Happens When the Air Quality Index Surpasses 500?

Tagline: The toxic air in the United States this week has flirted with the upper range of the 500-point scale. In the past decade, there have been times when the air quality was even worse.

Author: Jenny Gross

Date: June 9, 2023

Body:

New York City’s smoke-clogged air reached 407 on the Environmental Protection Agency’s 500-point Air Quality Index at one point this week, signifying that pollution levels were “hazardous” and at historically dangerous levels.

But it’s not the worst air quality that the United States has seen. There have been about 40 times over the past decade when the index has risen above 500, into what the E.P.A. calls “Beyond the A.Q.I.” Most of those instances have occurred in Western states, including California, Oregon and Washington, the E.P.A. said in an email, as wildfires spread a blanket of smoke over parts of the region.

The E.P.A. in 1999 released the current version of the six-tier index as a way to communicate to the public the density of five pollutants. A rating anywhere between 301 and 500 is considered “hazardous,” and air quality at that level will trigger health warnings. At that level and beyond, everyone should stay indoors and reduce activity levels. “Use the same information that is for the ‘hazardous’ category,” the E.P.A. advises.

While the A.Q.I. measurement used in the United States does not support values above 500, such values occur so infrequently that the issue rarely comes up, said Robert Rohde, the lead scientist at Berkeley Earth, an organization focused on environmental data science.

“Such levels do occur more often in some foreign countries, such as India,” Dr. Rohde said. Some third-party air quality tracking platforms extend the U.S. A.Q.I. scale and track figures over 500, he added.

Harshal Salve, a professor at the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said that as air quality reaches hazardous levels close to or above 500 on the U.S. A.Q.I. scale, people will experience symptoms of respiratory illnesses, such as coughing and a burning sensation in their eyes, with people over 65 years and under five years at the highest risk.

The negative effects can continue even after air quality levels have improved, since pollution particles can cause inflammation of the lung tissue and increase the vulnerability to infections.

By Friday, the cities with the highest A.Q.I.s were seeing improved air quality, with Susquehanna Valley, Pa., at 150, down from 448 on Thursday morning, the highest of anywhere in the United States, according to AirNow, a source for air quality data. Levels below 100 are considered to be below the level known to cause adverse health effects.

The E.P.A. said it has proposed changes to the A.Q.I. to make it more accurately reflect recent scientific studies about particle pollution and health, and to improve the quality of monitoring data. The agency said air quality in the United States is generally improving, even if climate change is contributing to more frequent and severe wildfires.

Olivia Clifton, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that if air quality levels like the ones this week become more frequent, the E.P.A. should consider defining what A.Q.I. levels above 500 say about air quality for the public.

“Is this still hazardous or beyond hazardous?” Dr. Clifton said. “What is the qualitative description of the air quality that would need to be described for a higher A.Q.I.?”

Jenny Gross is a general assignment reporter. Before joining The Times, she covered British politics for The Wall Street Journal. @/jggross

This was an interesting read! Thanks for triggering my need to do a deep dive!

Anywho, since I included things in the OG version way too late: Cloth masks are NOT sufficient. Please used KN95s or N95s!

Stay safe out there, folks!

If you're in an area that is suffering from wildfire polluted air, I just saw this on Twitter:

Bonus:

Here's a site I found that can tell you how to make these:

Edit: There have been some extra pointers (about open sources of water in the home, and I believe some other things) in the reblogs, so I highly recommend taking a look at the notes of this post!

[tfgadgets]

“No religion promotes any activity that promotes pollution or compromises with health of the people,” Supreme Court on firecracker ban

A thick smog engulfs Signature Bridge as Air Quality Index (AQI) remains in the ‘Very Poor’, in New Delhi on Monday. | Photo Credit: ANI Calling it a mere “eyewash”, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Delhi Police for failing to comprehensively implement the firecracker ban in the national capital and only seizing raw materials. A Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine…

[todayworldnews2k21]

“No religion promotes any activity that promotes pollution or compromises with health of the people,” Supreme Court on firecracker ban

A thick smog engulfs Signature Bridge as Air Quality Index (AQI) remains in the ‘Very Poor’, in New Delhi on Monday. | Photo Credit: ANI Calling it a mere “eyewash”, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Delhi Police for failing to comprehensively implement the firecracker ban in the national capital and only seizing raw materials. A Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih…

[thestudyiashindi]

Trapped in the Haze

Every winter, a thick, smoky haze blankets northern India, with cities like Delhi experiencing hazardous pollution levels. This is largely due to the age-old practice of stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana. Burning crop residue, or stubble, remains the quickest and cheapest way for farmers to clear fields after the paddy harvest, even though this method of clearing fields harms health, air quality, and the environment. Despite government policies and programmes aimed at curbing stubble burning, the high cost of machinery, lack of direct incentives, and limited time to prepare fields for the next crop leave farmers feeling trapped. This complex problem continues to create a recurring cycle of pollution affecting millions.

Practice of Stubble Burning

Stubble burning, the practice of setting fire to leftover plant stalks after harvesting, has long been a common method for farmers in Punjab and Haryana. For them, burning the stubble is a fast and cheap way to clear the fields before planting wheat, the next crop in their cycle. This practice requires no special equipment, making it accessible for small-scale farmers who often face economic pressures. Yet, this approach has severe consequences for air quality, health, and the environment.

Reasons Behind Stubble Burning

Economic Constraints and Lack of Affordable Alternatives: Small farmers face financial pressures that make sustainable options for crop residue management difficult. Expensive machines like balers and super-seeders are essential to managing crop residue without burning, but their cost is prohibitive for most small-scale farmers​. Government subsidies aimed at promoting these machines have not been effective or accessible enough to address the scale of the problem. As a result, many farmers revert to the cheaper and faster method of burning.

Shrinking Cultivation Window: With the enactment of the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act in 2009, the government aimed to conserve water by delaying paddy planting until mid-June. However, this law also reduced the timeframe between paddy harvest and wheat sowing, making it even harder for farmers to adopt alternative residue management methods. This shrinking window pressures farmers to burn stubble quickly so they can move on to wheat planting​.

Lack of Direct Incentives and Financial Support: Despite the potential of direct financial incentives to discourage stubble burning, the Central government has not yet implemented a robust programme to support this. The Punjab government proposed a system where the Central and State governments would share the cost, providing ₹2,500 per acre as an incentive for farmers to manage stubble sustainably. However, this proposal has not been approved. Without significant direct support, farmers are less motivated to switch from burning to sustainable practices​.

Environmental and Health Impacts

The environmental and health impacts of stubble burning are far-reaching. The smoke produced by burning fields travels across states, causing air quality to deteriorate drastically in densely populated areas like Delhi. In 2023, Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) reached hazardous levels, with PM2.5 concentrations—fine particles harmful to human health—exceeding WHO safety guidelines by more than ten times. Such high levels of pollution can cause serious respiratory issues, aggravate chronic lung diseases, and even increase the risk of lung cancer​. These health concerns extend to rural areas, affecting not only city dwellers but also farmers and villagers exposed to the harmful pollutants on a daily basis.

Government Efforts and Policy Gaps

Subsidies for Crop Residue Management (CRM) Machines: The Central government introduced a subsidy scheme in 2018 to encourage farmers to use CRM machines. Although this initiative aimed to help farmers manage crop residue without burning, these subsidies have not effectively addressed the problem. Many farmers find it challenging to operate and maintain these machines, and reports indicate that many of the subsidised machines have become redundant due to high operational costs​.

Legal Actions and Penalties: In recent years, the government and courts have imposed penalties on farmers who burn stubble. Some farmers even face red entries in their records, which can affect their ability to get loans or sell land. However, these punitive measures often feel unjust to farmers, who are already facing economic hardship. Punishing them for a practice they feel they cannot avoid only adds to their burden, and coercive measures alone have proven insufficient in stopping the practice​.

Success of Incentive Programmes in Haryana: Haryana’s initiative to offer a ₹1,000 per acre incentive for farmers who sell stubble to contractors has seen some success. Farmers who participate in this programme help supply stubble for biofuel production, reducing the amount of residue burned. This programme illustrates that with proper incentives, farmers are willing to adopt alternatives to burning. However, the programme is currently limited in scale and would need substantial expansion to address the problem on a larger scale​.

Long-Term Solutions: Diversification and Sustainable Agriculture

Experts in agricultural policy suggest that one of the most promising solutions is to diversify the types of crops grown. In particular, farmers could shift away from water-intensive crops like paddy to alternatives that produce less residue, such as cotton and sugarcane. However, these alternative crops do not receive the same minimum support price (MSP) as paddy, making them less attractive to farmers​. For crop diversification to be successful, the government would need to offer strong support for these alternative crops, including reliable pricing and better market access.

The Historical Context of Stubble Burning

The roots of the stubble burning issue can be traced back to the Green Revolution, which transformed Punjab into a rice-growing region to ensure food security. Traditionally, Punjab did not grow paddy, as its climate and soil were not naturally suited for it. However, with government support and high-yielding crop varieties, paddy production soared. Mechanised farming methods, such as combine harvesters, left long stubble in the fields, which could not be easily ploughed back into the soil. Consequently, burning became the easiest option. The legacy of these policy changes continues to impact farmers, who are now reliant on a crop that poses serious challenges for residue management​.

Ethical Concerns and the Farmer’s Perspective

Many farmers feel the current approach to stubble burning is unfair. With limited resources and alternatives, they find themselves penalised for a practice that feels like a necessity rather than a choice. It is important to think about whether it is fair to punish poor farmers, especially since forcing them to change will not work on its own. Farmer unions and local organisations argue for a balanced approach that includes incentives and practical support rather than solely relying on penalties.

Technological Innovations and Potential Solutions

Exploring innovative and affordable technologies for stubble management could help. Newer technologies, like small-scale machines suited to smaller farms or community machinery sharing programmes, could make sustainable residue management accessible to more farmers. Moreover, integrating stubble into biofuel production or other industries, as Haryana’s incentive programme illustrates, offers promising possibilities. With such measures, India could take a step forward in addressing this recurring problem​.

Conclusion

Stubble burning is a complex, multifaceted issue tied to historical agricultural policies, economic pressures, and environmental impacts. Although the government has implemented several measures to curb the practice, the support provided often falls short of the real needs of farmers. Expanding incentive programmes, investing in sustainable agricultural practices, and making affordable technology accessible to small-scale farmers are critical steps to reducing stubble burning. With these efforts, the thick haze that envelops northern India each winter could eventually start to clear, benefiting both the farmers and the millions affected by air pollution across the region.

[drcare4u]

Can air pollution increase obesity? Here is what we know

Home Health Can air pollution increase obesity? Here is what we know Air pollution is not just causing respiratory issues but it may also affect weight gain. Read on to know how. Air pollution may be linked to increased chances of obesity (Freepik) Cough, cold, dry eyes, eye allergies are growing in Delhi-NCR amidst the rising air pollution. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi is depleting…

[hindustanmorning]

Delhi's toxic air causes chaos, AQI at peak, awaiting winter arrival, stay updated on city status

There has definitely been a decline in temperature in Delhi-NCR. However, it is not yet cold here. The Meteorological Department has stated that residents of Delhi may need to be patient until November 15 for cooler temperatures. However, the air quality index in the city has significantly decreased. The AQI was recorded at 382 on Tuesday, indicating a ‘very poor’ air quality level. Let’s find…

[youthchronical]

Delhi enveloped in toxic haze, AQI in severe zone in some areas

A layer of thick smog engulfs the city, Kartavya Path in New Delhi on Monday. November 4, 2024. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR Delhiites continued to breathe toxic air on Tuesday (November 5, 2024) as the air quality edged closer to the severe zone in some areas. The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 384 at 9 a.m., according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The…

[news365timesindia]

[ad_1] Paromita Das GG News Bureau New Delhi, 5th November. Diwali, the festival of lights, has increasingly become a focal point in discussions around air pollution in Bharat, particularly in Delhi, where pollution levels surge each autumn. Mainstream media, politicians, and environmentalists have often singled out Diwali celebrations—especially the use of firecrackers—as the primary culprit for Delhi’s rising Air Quality Index (AQI) during the season. But as we examine more closely, it’s apparent that Diwali fireworks are not solely responsible for Delhi’s poor air quality. Numerous other factors—namely, agricultural stubble burning, adverse climatic conditions, and emissions from year-round industrial and vehicular activity—are significantly impactful yet largely ignored in the media spotlight. The Real Contributors to Air Pollution: Stubble Burning and AQI Spikes Every year as the harvest season wraps up in North Bharat, farmers burn crop stubble to quickly clear fields for the next planting. This method of field preparation, although cost-effective, has severe repercussions for air quality across the northern plains. In 2022, a study from IIT Delhi found that biomass burning, especially from stubble, was the primary driver of poor air quality in the region during the Diwali season. According to this research, while Diwali fireworks do cause a temporary spike in pollutants, this impact is short-lived, typically dissipating within 12 hours after the celebrations. In contrast, stubble burning emissions increase PM2.5 levels steadily and more substantially, with lasting impacts on air quality. For instance, on October 31, 2024—the day of Diwali—Punjab reported 484 stubble-burning cases, the highest for a single day that year. Data from the Punjab Pollution Control Board indicated a surge in PM2.5 contributions due to biomass burning, with levels soaring from 8.4% the day before Diwali to 27.61% on Diwali itself. Stubble burning often peaks during Diwali, but the public attention remains fixated on the festival, allowing the larger issue of agricultural pollution to go unnoticed by mainstream media. The Role of Climate and Thermal Inversion in AQI Spikes Another overlooked factor contributing to the severe air quality in Delhi during Diwali season is the region’s unique climatic and geographical conditions. Diwali typically falls between late October and early November, when Delhi’s cooler weather exacerbates pollution through a phenomenon known as thermal inversion. Normally, warm air rises, dispersing pollutants in the atmosphere. However, during thermal inversion, a layer of warm air traps cooler, polluted air near the ground, leading to heightened pollutant concentrations. This natural occurrence worsens Delhi’s air quality and reduces the rate at which pollutants disperse. The presence of calm weather conditions further prevents the natural ventilation of air, which could otherwise alleviate pollution levels. Consequently, pollution from various sources, including stubble burning and industrial emissions, becomes trapped, creating smog and raising AQI levels. While media reports often attribute these effects to Diwali fireworks, the underlying climatic factors receive little attention. The Historical and Environmental Costs of the Green Revolution The problem of stubble burning has its roots in the agricultural practices introduced during Bharat’s Green Revolution of the late 1960s and 1970s. This period saw a shift towards high-yield crop varieties and mechanized farming, which left sharp stubble behind after harvest. Farmers, pressed for time and resources, turned to burning this residue as a quick and cheap method of clearing their fields. Despite growing awareness of its environmental impact, stubble burning remains prevalent due to limited alternatives and lack of government support for sustainable field management practices. The Politicization of Diwali Pollution and Media Bias Over the years, Diwali has increasingly

come under scrutiny from politicians and social activists who place the blame for Delhi’s AQI on the festival’s firecrackers. Diwali’s association with pollution has fed into a broader narrative that overlooks other significant sources of pollution and focuses instead on a culturally significant Hindu festival. This bias creates a perception of selective outrage, where other pollution sources—such as stubble burning, vehicle emissions, and industrial discharge—escape public scrutiny. The resulting narrative often gives the impression that environmental concerns are secondary to cultural biases against Hindu traditions. This selective outrage not only alienates the Hindu community but also distracts from actionable measures that could effectively tackle pollution on a larger scale. Public and Policy Solutions for Long-Term Air Quality Improvement Bharat’s pollution problem, particularly in Delhi, requires comprehensive and year-round action rather than seasonal blame. Policy measures could include: Enhanced Support for Farmers: Government initiatives could focus on providing affordable alternatives to stubble burning, such as subsidies for crop residue management equipment, composting facilities, or biofuel production plants. Stricter Industrial and Vehicular Emission Controls: Tackling industrial and vehicular pollution requires stronger regulation, pollution-control technologies, and the promotion of green energy sources. Investment in Air Quality Infrastructure: Building more real-time AQI monitoring stations, advancing predictive pollution models, and improving public awareness can help mitigate pollution impact. Educational Campaigns and Community Involvement: The government, environmental organizations, and local communities should come together to educate the public about the diverse sources of pollution and to foster collaborative solutions. Conclusion While Diwali celebrations, particularly fireworks, do contribute temporarily to air pollution in Delhi, attributing the city’s air quality crisis solely to this festival is misleading. The reality is far more complex, with stubble burning, thermal inversion, vehicular emissions, and industrial activities playing significant roles. Addressing these issues demands a balanced and unbiased approach from policymakers and media, one that acknowledges the various contributors to pollution without unfairly targeting cultural practices. The annual criticism of Diwali celebrations is emblematic of a selective outrage that often undermines genuine environmental advocacy. To meaningfully address air pollution, the conversation needs to shift from seasonal blame games to holistic, data-driven solutions. Pollution is a year-round issue, not one that peaks merely with the lighting of Diwali lamps and fireworks. If real progress is to be made in improving air quality, environmental activists, politicians, and the media must consider the entirety of the problem—including stubble burning, vehicular emissions, and industrial activities—and work towards sustainable, long-term solutions rather than seasonal critiques. The pollution issue will not be resolved by limiting festivals but through innovative solutions, sustainable practices, and an all-encompassing commitment to environmental health. The real victory against pollution will come when we address its root causes, unifying around common solutions rather than dividing over cultural traditions.   The post Pollution Knows No Season – Let’s Target the Cause, Not the Culture! appeared first on Global Governance News- Asia's First Bilingual News portal for Global News and Updates. [ad_2] Source link