My column in Mindanao Daily
I am still in touch with one of my previous German language students, an Indian doctor, who turned back to India before starting his work as a doctor in my home country Germany. He sent me an email:
Residents awoke to find the city blanketed in a toxic fog! A really shocking news.
Of course, we all know that air pollution in the Indian capital has risen to hazardous levels after firecrackers were set off to celebrate Diwali despite a court ban. The Supreme Court had restricted the time frame for setting off firecrackers to only two hours in the night, but the order was openly flouted.
Diwali, the most important Hindu festival in north India, celebrates the victory of good over evil.
The levels of tiny particulate matter (known as PM 2.5) that enter deep into the lungs reached as high as 999 microgramms per cubic meter in some areas of the capital on today's morning, according to reports.
The US embassy tweeted that the air quality measure in Delhi had soared to 526, putting the pollution in the "severe" category and posing a serious health risk to residents.
Last month, the Supreme Court said it wanted to test if banning fireworks would make a difference to Delhi's air quality, ranked among the worst in the world. But despite the restrictions and the two-hour deadline on the night of the festival, residents of Delhi continued to burn firecrackers until late.
People took to social media to express their frustration over residents flouting court orders with impunity.
India is one example. Maybe the worst. I don't know. How about the Philippines? How about the whole world? Fire crackers or not? In my opinion: no fire crackers any more. Here and where ever? Or is it already too late to save our climate and our surroundings? Peak Delhi is people bursting crackers while wearing pollution masks. Wow. I have no words.
Grimly predictable. And I can still hear fireworks going off now, after midnight, in clear contravention of the Supreme Court ban. Said another Indian friend of mine ... .
The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), an emergency government initiative to try and improve conditions, has also launched around Delhi. It bans activities like rubbish burning to try and improve air quality.
