Progress or Persistence? A Comparative Analysis of Delhi’s Air Quality during Diwali over the Years

Abstract

The deteriorating air quality in Delhi is a serious cause of concern as it is posing a grave danger to health. The poor air quality is attributed to many factors such as vehicular pollution, thermal power plants, construction dust and stubble burning. For the last few years stubble burning has been implicated for the particulate matter surge and smog during the onset of winters. Diwali, the festival of light and sound, is also celebrated during October-November every year. Bursting of crackers during Diwali and celebration of marriages and other festivals during this particular time aggravates the pollution level. The present study analyzed the data available on the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) portal of different sites, from east, west, north and south Delhi. The surge in PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels was observed in most of the stations. The stubble burning incidents and the weather parameters were also studied from the available data sources. West Delhi stations (Ashok Vihar and Punjabi Bagh) showed high PM 2.5 but PM 10 was found the highest in East Delhi station (Anand Vihar). Though the stubble burning was contained in Haryana, the wind direction and the speed seems to be the major cause for the surge. The present strategies adopted by the government agencies did not work as the water spraying did not improve the air quality at any of the places where it was tested and cloud seeding could not be executed.

Therefore, public transport usage, microclimatic studies, plantations at selected sites, and technological advancements are very important. Interdisciplinary research to understand the pollution-climate dynamics using mathematical models will help in planning better strategies in future.