India’s national capital has banned fire crackers ahead of winter, in a bid to cut the world’s worst air pollution.
(Bloomberg) — India’s national capital has banned fire crackers ahead of winter, in a bid to cut the world’s worst air pollution.
This is the second year in a row that the city state’s local administration is curbing the production, storage, sale and use of firecrackers ahead of the festive season that lasts through most of autumn and winter, when Delhi experiences its worst air quality. The tweet by Gopal Rai, the city’s environment minister, said the decision has been taken to “save people’s lives.”
The Indian capital, which tops the list for the world’s worst air quality, struggles with high particulate matter pollution, which worsens in the second half of the year.
This forces the government to pursue measures such as shutting polluting coal plants, permitting only half its vehicles on the roads and curbing construction activity. Crop stubble burning in farms across northern India in winters regularly worsens the city’s air quality.
Plans by the federal and state governments are yet to show results and bans on firecrackers are routinely violated. More than 90% of India’s population live in areas where air quality is below World Health Organization standards, with coal-fired power plants, factories and vehicles among the major sources of pollution.
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