A toxic smog engulfs Delhi, its air quality index at a 'severe' level, with its residents contributing to it by blasting firecrackers with impunity during Diwali celebrations, breaching safe standards many times over, even as authorities mull over a solution with no respite in sight
With the worsening air quality index, some residents started wearing masks to protect themselves from pollution and smog in the morning in Delhi NCR on November 15, 2023. Delhi’s AQI stood at 401 yesterday, causing health experts to warn that no less than an N95 or N99 mask would help prevent some of the lung-killing particles from being inhaled.
Revellers light firecrackers during Diwali, a Hindu festival of lights, in New Delhi on November 12, 2023. Despite the prohibition on the manufacture, sale, and use of fireworks, the entire Delhi-NCR seemed to have stepped out to burst firecrackers, causing PM2.5 levels to soar after midnight and turning the sky hazy by Monday.
Heavy traffic crawls on a congested junction at Anand Vihar in Delhi amidst hazy weather conditions and smog on November 15, 2023. According to an IIT Kanpur study, vehicles continue to be the top contributors to Delhi’s toxic PM2.5 levels, with a share of vehicle pollution topping 45 percent on Tuesday.