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Dense fog blankets India’s capital on Tuesday, a day after millions of people celebrated Hindu With fireworks on the Diwali festival, air pollution levels increased to dangerous levels across the city.
revelers New Delhi Firecrackers were burnt till late Monday night, filling the air with smoke and fine particles that mixed with seasonal pollution and stagnant weather conditions. By Tuesday morning, the city’s air quality index had reached above 350 in many areas, which is considered “severe” and dangerous to breathe, according to the World Health Organization’s daily recommended maximum exposure.
Visibility was also reduced in some parts of the city due to fog covering roads, tall buildings and historical monuments.
Vedant Pachkande, a tourist visiting New Delhi, said, “I have never seen anything like this before. Due to pollution, we cannot see anything here.”
India’s top court last week relaxed a blanket ban on firecrackers in New Delhi during Diwali, allowing limited use of “green crackers” that emit fewer pollutants. Developed by federal research institutes, these are designed to cut particle and gas emissions by about 30%. The court had said they could be used during specific hours from Saturday to Tuesday, but like in previous years this rule was mostly flouted.
New Delhi and its metropolitan area – home to more than 30 million people – regularly ranks among the world’s most polluted cities during the winter months, when massive Diwali fireworks coincide with cold weather and smoke from crop residue fires set by farmers in nearby states.
Authorities in New Delhi have imposed several measures to curb pollution levels, including limits on construction activity and a ban on diesel generators. But environmentalists say long-term solutions like clean energy and strict vehicle-emissions controls are needed to stop the annual crisis.
Increasing pollution also reduces the amount of sunlight India Receives, a recent study found.
Indian scientists have found that sunshine time – the time when bright sunlight reaches Earth – According to a study published this month in Scientific Reports, a journal of Nature Portfolio, pollution is continuing to decline in most parts of India due to rising air pollution. Researchers attributed this decline to increasing aerosols – tiny particles from industrial emissions, biomass burning and vehicle pollution.
Manoj K., a scientist at Banaras Hindu University and one of the authors of the study. “We see greater impacts in more polluted areas like northern India,” Srivastava said.
Srivastava said that the reduction in sunlight, apart from affecting the local environment and people’s health, could also affect the amount of solar energy produced by India and the country’s agricultural productivity.
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AP climate reporter Sibi Arasu contributed to this report.