How to Tackle Air Pollution in India During Diwali?

Diwali is synonymous with larger-than-life celebrations across India when people resort to burning crackers and erupt in wild joy.

Even after the much-hyped anti-crackers campaign every year, the morning after Diwali night witnesses a big spike in the air pollution in every other city.

While we get delighted at the adrenaline-pumping sight of fireworks, it loads our atmosphere with heavy smoke, harmful chemicals, dust, and other air pollutants. It leads to the pollution levels surpassing the air quality index’s safety parameters during the month of Diwali.

Crackers’ bursting leads to the alarming rise of health problems associated with respiratory disorders, including bronchitis, lung cancer, asthma, difficulty in breathing, etc. This calls for serious and path-breaking measures to cope up with pollution during Diwali in India.

Minimize the use of firecrackers and use Green fireworks

The firecrackers are responsible for causing maximum air pollution during Diwali festivities. The smoke, dust, chemicals, and harmful fumes emitted by the burning of firecrackers pose severe health risks for humans and animals.

The firecrackers-released air pollutants cause various respiratory disorders like difficulty in breathing, asthma, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, cough, etc. These pollutants not only pollute the air but also cause extreme noise pollution.

The sound produced by the firecrackers causes anxiety, trauma, and confusion among the animals. They begin to move around senselessly, give up eating, and run away from the source of the sound.

By reducing or minimizing firecrackers’ use during Diwali celebrations, we can bring about significant improvement in the air-quality index.

Another alternative is to use green fireworks. Our Apex court has also mandated using environmentally-friendly fireworks that can cut the noise levels from 160 decibels to 125 decibels along with 30% lower emission compared to traditional fireworks.

Use Air Purifiers

Installing air purifiers in your home and offices effectively tackles the increased air pollution during Diwali celebrations. While you cannot ask everyone to act responsibly, you can ensure the circulation of good quality air within your home.

It is advisable to stay indoors in your home or office.

The air purifier helps you breathe in clean and pure air inside your home while the outside environment contains toxic air pollutants. It works like a lifesaver for the elderly, kids, and individuals with breathing issues.

Avoid Toxic Paints

As Diwali approaches, we engage ourselves in cleaning activities and renovating various household items.

We should avoid using toxic paints for repainting our homes and furniture. These contain volatile organic compounds that pose serious health risks for our bodies.

These VOCs get released into the indoor air and slowly get inhaled when we breathe. It is recommended to go for eco-friendly paints that don’t contain toxic chemicals. These help you to renovate your home and furniture safely.

 Use Earthen Pots

The mesmerizing sight of the series of illuminating earthen pots makes for a visual treat. It amplifies the beauty of your home décor. You should only use the earthen pots for Diwali decorations and avoid using bulbs and other electrical devices.

This helps you make savings in your electricity bills and decreases carbon emissions, leading to improved air quality. Using the earthen pot is an eco-friendly and cost-effective way of boosting your home’s aesthetics. It also supports the earthen pots industry.

Avoid Dusting 

While you may be hell-bent on cleaning every nuke and corner of your home during Diwali, it may lead to breathing issues and trigger asthma in people with respiratory disorders. Thus, you should avoid doing excessive dusting while cleaning your home.

The dusting leads to the spread of pollen and molds in the air. It increases the dust particles’ level in the indoor air, and these remain suspended in the air for long periods. You are exposed to these particles, and these get inhaled during breathing.

Rather than dusting, you can use a wet cloth for wiping off the dust from the surfaces. It helps to contain the spread of dust, pollen, and other air pollutants in the air.

Use Public Transport

If you would like to see a clear sky on Diwali, then you should make your bid to minimize vehicular emissions. Use public transport for moving around during Diwali.

When you use public transport for commuting, you prevent the unnecessary burning of fuels. Share your rides or do car-pooling. This helps curb carbon emissions and reduce the release of toxic gases like carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.

Avoid smoking indoors

You should avoid smoking indoors as it spreads the smoke inside the home environment and renders the indoor air quality poorer.

Cigarette smoke is harmful not only for active smokers but also poses a health risk for passive smokers.

Ensure to avoid smoking inside the house when partying with your friends and family during Diwali celebrations. Another alternative is to smoke e-cigarette that is healthy, eco-friendly, and emit only vapours.

Avoid stubble burning

The rampant practise of stubble burning in some states like Punjab and Haryana by farmers has vitiated Delhi’s atmosphere to alarming levels. This is followed every year during the winters to prepare the soil for the next crop.  This is one of the main reasons for the increase in air pollution in Delhi.

The stubble burning contributes heavily to air pollution and results in smog’s frequent occurrence during the winters. It drastically deteriorates the air quality by releasing harmful gases like sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and a plethora of particulate matter.

Thus, you should avoid stubble burning, especially during Diwali, so that people can breathe freely in the open air rather than staying confined within the boundaries of their home.

Use high-quality filter masks

Using a filter mask that effectively blocks the particulate matter and other fine pollutants keeps you healthy and ensure your well-being. The mask is a potent way of avoiding exposure to your lungs and heart while keeping your respiratory system healthy.

It’s not practical to avoid exposure to several toxic gases released by the bursting of Diwali’s firecrackers. With a mask, you can avoid inhaling such toxic chemicals and gases. Whenever you move out, wear a mask and enjoy a safe Diwali.

We all love celebrating Diwali as it provides fun-filled, joyous, and quality time with family and friends. However, in our festive spirits, we should not forget to take effective measures to minimize air pollution.

Air pollution causes the death of millions of people every year, and it’s our collective responsibility to keep our atmosphere clean and unpolluted.

By taking the measures mentioned above, we can ensure that people would celebrate Diwali in a safe and healthy environment.