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India
This Week in AsiaHealth & Environment

Diwali fireworks ban in Indian capital New Delhi sparks pollution row

  • Firecrackers have long been part of Diwali festival landscape but attitudes changing and bans emerging, with pollution a key concern
  • But while India is world’s second largest fireworks industry, after China, many point out pollution is caused by other things too

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Students in face masks take part in an anti-fireworks campaign to raise awareness about air pollution ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, in Kolkata. File photo: Reuters
Kalpana Sunder
Fireworks in India have played a huge role in the nation’s celebrations for centuries but in the past few years, amid concerns of pollution and health hazards, attitudes have changed, and rows have exploded, although many say there is far more to poor air quality than a few days a year of bangers.
The capital, Delhi, experiences an annual deterioration in air quality during the Diwali festive season, which starts in October. Officials said the city’s air quality index will be in the “poor” category for the next few days.

Farmers burning crop stubble also causes poor air quality, though, as do vehicle and industrial emissions. But wanting to create loud and colourful explosions for fun is increasingly leading to uproar, all against the backdrop of the fireworks industry in India being the world’s second largest, after China.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that only “green” fireworks would be permitted, and only after safety checks. Three years later the court also banned the use of barium nitrate, which is toxic. Its removal, though, has meant a lower shelf life for firecrackers, another impact on manufacturers and their supply chains.

Developed by the country’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), green fireworks “emit pollutants at a 30 per cent lesser rate than their conventional counterparts,” according to ex-health minister Harsh Vardhan.

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