Rs 5-crore crackers light up Diwali, but bring down air quality in Chandigarh

As festivities swept the city on Diwali, residents burst firecrackers worth Rs 5 crore. On the flip side, the air quality plunged into the “very poor” category and noise pollution saw a rise.

“We have sold firecrackers worth nearly Rs 5 crore this Diwali. Barring a few stall owners, the entire stock was sold this time,” said a member of the Cracker Dealers’ Association. The UT Administration had issued 96 temporary licences for the sale of green firecrackers at 12 sites across the city this year.

Efforts were also made to limit the environmental impact, with the Administration implementing specific guidelines for the use of firecrackers for Diwali and other festivals. As part of the measures, residents were permitted to burst only green firecrackers between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali night.

The public response to the guidelines was overwhelmingly positive. Notably, the evening before Diwali passed with minimal noise and air quality remained at par with that of a regular day. On Diwali itself, most residents adhered to the two-hour time window, and the quantity of firecrackers used was significantly lower than previous years.

The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) and the Environment Department, which had held “Green Diwali” awareness events at schools, also acknowledged the support of citizens. To monitor the impact, air and noise levels were measured at six locations—once on a normal day (October 13) and again on Diwali (October 20).

On October 13, AQI readings remained in the “satisfactory” to “moderate” range (below 120) across all sites. On Diwali, the figure stayed “moderate” up to 8 pm. However, AQI dropped to “very poor” at some locations with the bursting of crackers firecrackers.

Among the areas that reported “very poor” AQI included Sector 53 (304); IMTECH, Sector 39, (318); and PEC-12 (312). Two other areas — Sector 22 (234) and Sector 25 (296) — remained in the “poor” category, while Sector 17 recorded “moderate” AQI on Diwali.

Four of the six monitored sites (Sectors 17, 22, 25 and 53) showed better air quality compared to last year. It was in line with the consistent improvement shown over last three years, reflecting growing environmental awareness, particularly among younger generations and school children, the department official noted.

Air quality back in ‘satisfactory’ category

As per the data, air quality improved the morning after Diwali in an encouraging sign of growing environmental responsibility.

Favourable weather conditions also played a part, with AQI levels staying in the “satisfactory” category starting 1 am onwards on October 21.

Noise pollution also saw a rise on Diwali compared to the regular day. The highest noise level was recorded in Sector 22 at 80.7 dB(A), while the lowest was in Sector 25 at 65.8 dB(A), both during the 8 pm to 10 pm window to burst crackers.

Chandigarh