Diwali, a night of lights and togetherness. I hope all of you had a prosperous and safe festival. However, on this day I was left wondering if we are celebrating the festival of lights or a massively hazardous festival of polluting fireworks.
There is no doubt that this drastic downturn in air quality after every Diwali is a matter of concern for every individual, especially those living in the bigger cities. This year, on Diwali, the air toxicity levels shot up at alarmingly, which should have ideally meant taking precautions to prevent further damage.
This Diwali saw record pollution levels in India. According to the database run by Berkeley Earth, an independent US research organization, on October 30 and 31, 2016, from 9pm to the early hours of the next morning, North India recorded PM 2.5 levels of over 500 µg/m³–exhibiting “beyond scale” pollution values.(Source- Hindustan Times).
The Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (can cause aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, and premature death when combined with other air pollutants ) was recorded to be many times higher than the national ambiance air quality standard in Delhi alone.
The festival of happiness is year by year becoming a reason for sadness and grief. People are forgetting the real reason behind the celebration. In the name of tradition, we are affecting lives of close ones and future health of children. Air Pollution is not only matter of concern. The leftover garbage from Diwali is a direct slap on the face of PM Modi’s government, who is doing all efforts for the success Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Diwali signifies the victory of hope over despair. In order to achieve one night’s worth of happiness, let’s not ruin the hope of coming generation seeing the beautiful nature we are gifted with.
