Journalism of Courage
Akshardham temple in New Delhi on Thursday morning. A thick haze engulfed Delhi hours after Diwali celebrations with the air quality deteriorating to "hazardous" category in several areas as people continued to burst firecrackers long after the deadline set by the Supreme Court. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)
The air quality in Anand Vihar and areas around Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium recorded 999 AQI and Chanakyapuri 459, exposing people to major health risks. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)
A “very poor” AQI essentially means that people may suffer from respiratory illnesses on prolonged exposure to such air. If the air quality dips further, the AQI will turn “severe”, which may trouble even those with sound health conditions and seriously affect those with ailments. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)
Violations of the Supreme Court order were reported from Mayur Vihar Extension, Lajpat Nagar, Lutyens Delhi, IP extension, Dwarka, Noida Sector 78 among other places. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)
Police seized 40 kg of crackers in North West Delhi last night and 57 cases were registered. 200 kg of crackers was seized from Dwarka and 42 cases were registered. In South East Delhi, 23 FIRs were registered, 17 people were arrested and 278 kg crackers was seized. In North Delhi, 72 kg crackers was seized and 14 were arrested, according to ANI. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)
Expressing concern over the poor air quality, the Supreme Court had restricted bursting of firecrackers to between 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali and other festivals. The apex court had ordered that only “green crackers”, which have a low light and sound emission and less harmful chemicals, can be sold in NCR. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)
During the day on Diwali, Delhi’s air quality oscillated between “poor” and “very poor” categories as authorities had warned of severe deterioration of air quality even if “partial toxic crackers” are burned compared to last year. The overall air AQI was recorded at 281, which falls in the “poor” category, according to the CPCB data. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)
As per ACQIN data, PM 10 levels were recorded at 413 while PM 2.5 spiked to 215 Wednesday as against an ideal limit of 50. (File Photo)
According to travel websites, there is a dip of 25 per cent in the number of solo travelers and families heading to Delhi for Diwali. Moreover, tourists are also giving Delhi a miss and heading to other northern cities. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)
