New Delhi

Diwali is a pan-India festival and perhaps always on the radar of environmentalists and even courts of law for the ensuing pollution. It is true that no Indian can stay away from the festive fervour of Diwali, but air and noise pollution due to firecrackers just maybe something to be introspective about. 

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NCAP Tracker, which analyses the Indian government's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), has released a study that found pollution in the first 12 hours after Diwali this year was higher than what it was last year in nine out of 11 state capitals where samples were taken.

NCAP Tracker has said in its report that data for the comparison was taken from Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of the Government of India.

The state capitals that were included in the analysis were Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata and Patna.

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The readings for PM 2.5 (particulate matter) for three days were considered: The day before Diwali, the day of Diwali and the day after Diwali.

Watch | India: New Delhi defies firecracker ban on Diwali

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It was found that on November 11, 2023, that is, the day before Diwali, eight out of 11 cities had lower PM 2.5 levels when compared to October 23, 2022, the day before Diwali last year. These cities were Mumbai, Bhopal, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru.

On Diwali day this year (Nov 12), PM 2.5 levels in the cities of Bengaluru, Delhi and Gandhinagar were lower than the Diwali day last year (Oct 24).

Also Read | After Diwali, two more Indian cities join New Delhi among world's top 10 most polluted

However, on the day after Diwali, the picture wasn't as rosy. Barring Bengaluru and Gandhinagar, all other cities registered higher PM 2.5 levels than last year. For all the cities, however, PM 2.5 levels were above the 'good' limit prescribed by the CPCB.

Also Read | Delhi govt blames BJP for ‘very poor’ air quality, says anti-pollution curbs will continue

It was observed that on Diwali day, Patna had the highest PM 2.5 levels among the cities. On the next day, however, New Delhi topped the chart with maximum PM 2.5 levels

NCAP Tracker has also noted that the Supreme Court of India's ban on firecrackers was flouted in a number of places.