The Supreme Court order allowing the sale of green firecrackers, which are thought to be 30 per cent less polluting, in avowedly restricted hours after a ban had been in place for five years opened a Pandora’s Box

Diwali fireworks and firecrackers choked Delhi and the NCR with air quality monitoring stations seeing the index hit the red zone. This blows away all arguments over standard causes of Delhi-NCR pollution like traffic, power plants, heavy industries, construction-demolition dust and the seasonal stubble-burning in Punjab contributing most to making the air barely breathable for all citizens.

The average AQI readings for Delhi on October 17, 206, October 18, 214, October 19 236 and October 21 345 clearly tell the tale of firecrackers being principally responsible for the sudden

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