NEW DELHI, NOV 1 – India’s capital, New Delhi, was shrouded in toxic smoke today, with air pollution worsening after a ban on fireworks was flouted in conjunction with the Hindu festival of lights, Diwali.
New Delhi’s clogged streets are home to more than 30 million people, and the city is regularly ranked as one of the most polluted urban areas in the world.
The city is shrouded in cancer-causing smog every year, mainly due to the burning of straw by farmers in neighboring areas to clear their fields for ploughing, in addition to smoke from factories and traffic.
However, air conditions worsened today after the use of fireworks as part of Diwali celebrations, although city authorities last month banned their sale and use.
The city police had seized nearly two tonnes of firecrackers ahead of Diwali, but the firecrackers were still found being sold in neighboring states.
India’s Supreme Court last month ruled that clean air is a human right, ordering both the central government and state-level authorities to take action.
“Delhi’s toxic air is killing us softly with its smog,” he wrote Times of India in an editorial last week, as winter pollution returns. – AFP
