BBC OnlIne :
Angry residents of the Indian capital, Delhi, are sharing images of smog, one day after Diwali celebrations saw huge quantities of fireworks set off.
Levels of particulate matter in the air hazardous to health rose to nearly 10 times the safe limit of 100.
Authorities had warned that Delhi faced a polluted Diwali because of factors like humidity and wind speed.
Diwali, the most important Hindu festival in north India, celebrates the victory of good over evil.
Fire crackers are regularly set off during the festivities but tend to worsen air quality.
Delhi’s local government announced last week that it would install air purifiers near roads in an effort to cut the effects of air pollution.
However, visibility across the city was extremely low on Monday morning, thanks to the thick blanket of smog covering the city. The hashtag #smog was soon trending on Twitter India.
“Good show last night, Delhi. Now choke!” read one angry tweet from user Pratik Prasenjit.
For the Indian capital, the alarming numbers are hardly a surprise. New Delhi’s air pollution, among the world’s worst, spikes every winter because of the season’s weak winds and countless garbage fires set alight to help people stay warm.
Even days before the city erupted in annual fireworks celebrations for the Hindu holiday of Diwali, recorded levels of tiny, lung-clogging particulate matter known as PM 2.5 were considered dangerous Friday at well above 300 micrograms per cubic meter. By Monday morning, the city was recording PM 2.5 levels above 900 mcg per cubic meter – more than 90 times higher than the WHO recommendation of no more than 10 mcg per cubic meter.
“My eyes are irritated, I’m coughing and I find it difficult to breathe,” said 18-year-old Delhi student Dharmendra, who uses only one name as is common in India. Because of the pollution, “I don’t go out so much nowadays.”
Angry residents of the Indian capital, Delhi, are sharing images of smog, one day after Diwali celebrations saw huge quantities of fireworks set off.
Levels of particulate matter in the air hazardous to health rose to nearly 10 times the safe limit of 100.
Authorities had warned that Delhi faced a polluted Diwali because of factors like humidity and wind speed.
Diwali, the most important Hindu festival in north India, celebrates the victory of good over evil.
Fire crackers are regularly set off during the festivities but tend to worsen air quality.
Delhi’s local government announced last week that it would install air purifiers near roads in an effort to cut the effects of air pollution.
However, visibility across the city was extremely low on Monday morning, thanks to the thick blanket of smog covering the city. The hashtag #smog was soon trending on Twitter India.
“Good show last night, Delhi. Now choke!” read one angry tweet from user Pratik Prasenjit.
For the Indian capital, the alarming numbers are hardly a surprise. New Delhi’s air pollution, among the world’s worst, spikes every winter because of the season’s weak winds and countless garbage fires set alight to help people stay warm.
Even days before the city erupted in annual fireworks celebrations for the Hindu holiday of Diwali, recorded levels of tiny, lung-clogging particulate matter known as PM 2.5 were considered dangerous Friday at well above 300 micrograms per cubic meter. By Monday morning, the city was recording PM 2.5 levels above 900 mcg per cubic meter – more than 90 times higher than the WHO recommendation of no more than 10 mcg per cubic meter.
“My eyes are irritated, I’m coughing and I find it difficult to breathe,” said 18-year-old Delhi student Dharmendra, who uses only one name as is common in India. Because of the pollution, “I don’t go out so much nowadays.”
