Impact Assessment of Diwali Fireworks Emissions on the Air at Special Locations in Delhi During Three Consecutive Years

Abstract

India is renowned as a place of celebrations. Festivals commemorate not only the change of the seasons but also the harvest, peace, and the birthdays of saints, gurus, prophets, as well as gods and goddesses. When it comes to their religious beliefs, Indians are noted for having a varied range of customs, including fasting, abstinence, and other behaviours. One of the biggest Hindu holidays, Diwali, takes place every year between October and January. The Hindu holidays of Navratri, Dussehra, Durga Puja, and Diwali all fall during these months. A significant amount of dry garbage is produced during and after these festival days. Due to the lack of disposal space during holidays like Diwali and other overlooked issues like extensive firecracker burning, especially in the late hours, which is a substantial producer of aerosols, black carbon (BC), organics, and trace gases, the amount of dry trash increases. It was discovered that frequent sparkler use was connected to incidents of short-term air quality impairment. An afternoon following Diwali in every year, the Indo-Gangetic Plain experiences an increase in air pollution levels that make it difficult to breathe. On Friday, Delhi had its worst post-Diwali air quality in five years due to a deadly concoction of poisonous gases from firecrackers and stubble. To calculate the impact of Diwali on Delhi's air quality, we used hourly data on PM 2.5 particle content from last three years 2020 to 2022. By estimating the Diwali influence on air quality using the event study method and a difference-in-difference regression framework, we improve on previous research. According to the findings, Diwali is associated with a marginal but statistically significant rise in air pollution. In different parts of Delhi, the impact varies. This is the first causal estimate of the air pollution caused by igniting Diwali firecrackers that we are aware of.