Air Pollution in India: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map

There was less noise pollution, but people were still lighting crackers:

The ban has certainly made people conscious about bursting crackers: Nila Madhab Panda

Bursting crackers on Diwali is a deeply conditioned habit for Delhiites:

The ban couldn't stop people from bursting crackers:

Logon to pata tha Diwali ke din police nahi ayegi patakhe band karane: Asha Negi, designer, lives in Sector 37 Noida

Like Delhi, even Gurgaon disrespected the ban: Nidhi Aggarwal, jewellery designer, Sector 41, Gurgaon

It's sad to see that people are giving excuses on why they have right to make things worse: Abhishek Mishra, Gurgaon's long-distance runner, Golf Course Road Sector 56

Delhi woke up to a blanket of smog on Friday, after a quiet and promising Diwali evening gave way to noisy and relentless bursting of firecrackers till late night on Thursday, despite the Supreme Court ban on their sale in the NCR. The online indicators of the pollution monitoring stations in the city glowed red, indicating a 'very poor' air quality as the volume of ultra fine particulates sharply rose from around 7pm on Diwali.While it is difficult to quantify the immediate effect of the ban on firecrackers, residents across the national capital felt the beginning was promising with neighbourhoods reporting much lesser noise and smoke till about 6pm, compared to the previous years. But as the festivities picked up, the faint echos of crackers started growing louder.SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) had forecast that the pollution levels will peak between 11pm and 3am. However, it has also predicted a relatively cleaner post-Diwali air due to favourable meteorological conditions, which are helping prevent the smoke-filled air from the agricultural belt of Haryana and Punjab from entering the national capital.Despite this, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in parts of Delhi touched hazardous, with RK Puram hitting 978 on Friday morning, reported ANI. The real time AQI also showed Punjabi Bagh at 999.TV actor Dheeraj Dhoopar, who was at his home in Janakpuri for Diwali, says, "I had thought that people won’t be bursting crackers at all after the Supreme Court ban, but that was not the case. There was less noise because people were not bursting as many bombs, but most people did light phuljharis and chakhris, that contribute to the air pollution. People should understand that the ban was for our own good. Poor air quality impacts all of us and we are making the situation worse by bursting crackers. I also feel that the ban should have been better implemented, only strict checking could have ensured that the ban was a success. Nothing changes easily in Delhi, but at least there is now some awareness among the people."Delhi-based filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda says, "People burst crackers this year as well, but I think it was less compared to last year, at least in my area. I live in south Delhi, and when kids were bursting firecrackers nearby, a security guard came and asked them, 'Yeh mana nahin hai?' I could also go jogging the morning after Diwali, unlike last year, when I couldn’t step out for four days after the festival because of the smog. The ban has certainly made people more conscious. At least now those who are bursting crackers know that they are doing something wrong. Where was this consciousness before in Delhi? I have been living here for the last 25 years, and a cracker-free Diwali is something unimaginable here."Actor Adil Hussain says, "Our colony (GK Enclave) was very quiet in the evening, but later, a few families had burst crackers for 1-1.5 hours. I found it an amazing change towards a pollution-free Diwali. Bursting crackers on Diwali is such deeply conditioned habit for Delhiites that it will take time to change. Asking people not to burst crackers on Diwali is like asking a non-vegetarians to turn vegetarian in a day. There needs to be a more intense people’s movement."Danish Hussain, actor and director, says, "I landed in Delhi at 7am the day after Diwali, and the first thing that I noticed was the smog. My mother lives here and she told me that though people burst less crackers this year, it was still enough to further deteriorate the air quality in Delhi.""What was different this year that nobody burst any crackers before Diwali, every year they start celebrating with crackers a week in advance. Is baar police ke dar se crackers logon ne pehle jalaye nahin. This time it was all quiet but suddenly on Diwali evening, people started bursting crackers and it didn't end before 11pm. My friends who came from Delhi and Gurgaon to visit me told me that the situation was equally bad in other cities and it was no different from last year. Logon ko pata tha Diwali ke din police aa kar patakhe band nahin karayegi, toh kis baat ka ban?," says Asha Negi, designer.Nidhi Aggarwal, jewellery designer, Sector 41, Gurgaon says, "I live in The Palms society which is closer to Huda City Centre metro station and in our society, notices were put up to stay away from firecrackers and hence in our society nobody burst any crackers, but in outside our society and in other areas of Gurgaon, the situation was really bad. Till 9 pm in evening, we couldn't hear anything but suddenly it was Diwali as usual. We were expecting that if not Delhi at least Gurgaon residents will at least respect the ban, but it didn't happen."It was definitely not a cracker-free Diwali night, but yes, it was 'cracker sale free' Diwali. I live in Golf Course area and compared to last year, this time pollution was less.When I went for run the next morning, it was not smoggy like last year, because there was no fog but pollution toh tha! Even this ban could not stop people from bursting crackers on Diwali. It's really sad that instead of taking steps to bring a change, people are giving excuses on why they have the right to make things worse," says Abhishek Mishra, Gurgaon's long-distance runner.--With inputs from Agencies