Toxic Haze in India Capital after Firing of Crackers from Diwali Festival

Residents of India’s capital, Delhi, woke up to smoky skies as air quality dropped after the festival of Diwali.

People in the city burst crackers late into Sunday night despite a ban on fireworks due to high pollution levels.

Delhi has been battling toxic air for weeks, with the government announcing an early winter break for schools in an effort to protect children.

On Monday morning, according to the Sameer App which provides hourly updates based on federal pollution control board data, the Air Quality Index (AQI) across 37 monitoring stations in Delhi was above 200, with several places recording readings above 350.

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The AQI in Delhi is 13-20 times higher than the level recommended by the world health organization.

On Monday, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai alleged that leaders from the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is in power nationally but in the opposition in Delhi had “incited” people to light firecrackers.

The bursting of firecrackers has increased pollution levels in Delhi. Not many people have burst firecrackers but it was done in some places in a targeted manner,” he said.

Leaders from the BJP had not officially responded to this.

The poor air quality on Monday came after rains on Friday morning led to a drop in pollution levels in Delhi over the weekend.