Diwali fireworks: Delhi residents pay the price

India’s capital New Delhi has the worst air quality in the world as the city is at the top of the Air Quality Index (AQI) with 332.

The morning after the Diwali celebrations, a thick smog turned daylight into dusk around the capital as AQI surged to 463 on a scale of 500, which is the maximum recorded in 2021, indicating “severe” conditions that affect even healthy people let alone those with existing respiratory diseases, reports Reuters.

In India, toxic air kills reportedly more than a million people annually.

“No country delights more in passing laws and then bypassing them than ours. Today Delhi particularly is facing the consequences of this feature of our lives,” Jairam Ramesh, a lawmaker and a leader of the main opposition Congress Party tweeted on Friday.

No country delights more in passing laws and then by-passing them than ours. Today, Delhi particularly is facing the consequences of this feature of our lives. Air pollution is at its most dangerous peak.

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 5, 2021

Gopal Rai, Delhi environment chief said authorities planned to install 20 anti-smog guns to spray water into the air to help dilute the smog.

Currently, there have been calls for more strict measures such as a temporary ban on construction activities and shutdowns of high-polluting factories.

Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi told the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow that India would achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, but some experts reckoned that the target was at least two decades too late.

As per today’s date (Saturday), Lahore was at 3rd place. While India’s other two cities currently stand at 4th and 5th.