NEW DELHI: While many had feared that people will take to bursting crackers in a big way this Diwali to kill mosquitoes in the wake of the dengue situation and this would lead to excessive pollution, a steady breeze during the night ensured that the air remained comparatively clean and the pollution level remained lower than what it was last year round. Also, this year there was a marked drop in the level of noise during the Diwali celebrations.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee, which monitored the pollution levels at 40 different locations, said in comparison to Diwali last year, the carbon monoxide level this year declined at 28 out of 40 locations, while at an equal number of locations the suspended particulate matter (SPM) levels were also lower.
Moreover, DPCC, which monitored ambient air quality at 40 locations and noise levels at 30 locations on Diwali night, said while the concentration of SPM in 2005 varied from 740-5790 micrograms per cubic metre, this year it was in the range is 627 to 3297 g/m3, a substantial decline at both the lower and upper ends.
However, the concentration of nitrogen dioxide, which was in the range of 30 to 202 g/m3 during Diwali last year, rose substantially and went into the range of 22 to 466 g/m3. The maximum concentration was observed at Daryaganj and minimum at R.K. Puram.
The observed range of carbon monoxide varied from 750 to 4750 g/m3. The maximum concentration in this case was observed at Paharganj while the minimum was at Vasant Kunj.
From the recorded data, Diwali also appears to have been less noisy this year. While the Fire Crackers Association had reported a decline in demand by about 40 per cent, the drop in noise levels showed that probably the "Say No To Crackers'' campaign and the active involvement of children and students in this drive may be having an impact.
The results showed improvement in some indicators of ambient air quality and improving trends in prevention of noise pollution.
These are indicative of the success created due to joint efforts made by different agencies of Delhi Government against the use of fire crackers during Diwali.
During Diwali on Saturday, DPCC also deputed five enforcement teams to observe violation, if any, of Supreme Court directions vide their judgment dated July 18, 2005.
The teams visited all the nine districts and observed the noise and ambient air pollution.
They found that the noise levels increased from 6 pm and reached the maximum around 10 pm.
However, due to favourable weather conditions resulting from a steady breeze, the smoke continued to disperse and considerably reduced by midnight.
