We Pledge for pollution-free Diwali!
ASPAM, one of the Schools in Noida urges you all to celebrate this Diwali without harming our environment. Let’s take a pledge together to help fight the pollution and Breathe Clean! Last year post-Diwali, air pollution in India reached the quality score out of a maximum of 500. NCR had the third-worst air in the country. Although Lucknow and Patna were worse off last year, this year, nothing is as terrible as the air quality of NCR. The Air Quality Index at the city’s monitoring center stood at 389 in Delhi. Just across the Capital, Greater Noida’s Air Quality Index stood at 368. It is predicted that after a few days, especially when Diwali is around the corner, Delhi’s air quality can touch the ‘severe’ mark. The ‘severe’ mark is an emergency, which essentially means that even healthy people may suffer from respiratory illnesses due to Air quality exposure.
One of the major reasons for the bad Air Quality is the Stubble burning. It is a part of a natural process that farmers have been practicing for ages. In the last few years, Stubble burning was blamed for the peak pollution in the neighboring states but it cannot be blamed alone. One of the major reasons for the pollution is bursting crackers, resulting in increasing the concentration of dust and pollutants in the air. In the past few years, Diwali has become a festival much of crackers and less of lights and sweets. Firing Crackers is extremely injurious and risky to our health. The harmful chemical while firing crackers can hinder the growth in children and increases the toxic levels in their bodies. The smoke causes congestion of the throat and chest and the pollutants are mixed with poisonous and radioactive elements, increasing the risk of cancer in people.
As the air quality in Delhi and other Northern cities are rapidly deteriorating, the country dreaded the pollution season has returned this year. But the situation could get worse this year as we are in the middle of a pandemic, fighting against coronavirus. Several studies around the world have linked air pollution to higher Covid-19 case numbers and deaths. The toxic air will restrain India to fight against the virus. Delhi is one of the most affected cities by the pandemic. The hazardous levels of pollution will only cause inflammation and damage and the city could be in a worse condition than ever this year.
To avoid the damage, we all must take a pledge to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali. Let us celebrate Diwali by spending time with our loved one, decorating and cleaning the house, preparing a feast, and learning new things.