Diwali is traditionally known as the festival of lights because it symbolizes the "victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance." Let me say that again, the victory of knowledge over ignorance. And yet each year we do the same stupid things.
Images courtesy: Reuters
What's supposed to be the festival of lights usually turns into the festival of smog in many cities, because we just can't seem to celebrate Diwali without fireworks. We know by now just how polluting they are, we've been told how bad they are for us and everyone we know, and yet we just can't help ourselves.?
So the central government is attempting *some* change here. At a press conference on Monday, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar asked the public to refrain from bursting crackers this Diwali. Or if they really must, then to opt for the new "green firecrackers" now on the market.
Let's parse that again. The government, which has no problems imposing?bans on the food?people eat, the?movies they watch, or?the apps they use, is asking people to pretty please not burst little balls of gunpowder that invariably choke our urban centres every year.
In October last year, the Supreme Court had banned conventional fireworks across the country, except for two hours on Diwali. Of course, people went ahead and bought and burst their crackers anyway, but that's another story. The real people hit were those working in this industry, so the scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) were tasked with coming up with an alternative.
?
Earlier this year, they came up with a new formula for what they called green firecrackers. These supposedly emit 25 to 30 percent less of PM 2.5 than traditional fireworks. This is the? particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, that pollutes the atmosphere when you burn crackers. It's basically what chokes you, irritates your eyes, and pretty much wreaks havoc on pollution levels.
Honestly, we don't need fireworks at all. Nothing good comes from them, people in other countries have found plenty of other ways to celebrate that don't suffocate entire cities for days at a time.?
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), conventional firecrackers air quality at all its measuring stations in Delhi last year were worse than they were in 2017, and that's after a blanket ban on them. air quality in terms of Particulate Matter (PM10, PM2.5) worsened in 2018 at all stations compared to Diwali 2017.
The air quality index(AQI)? in Delhi at the time was settled at about 390. Today, well before we begin bursting Diwali crackers, New Delhi already has an AQI between 150 to 200. Hell, Noida literally has a "death" icon next to it on the World Air Quality Index's real-time map, because it's already at an AQI of 389.
The government says two things about these firecrackers in particular. One is that they reduce PM2.5 by about 30 percent, and that they reduce other emissions like sulphur oxide and nitrous oxide emissions by 20 percent. So is that true?
Well, possibly. What you should know about fireworks is that you're basically using gunpowder to ignite a metal compound, the type of metal dictating the colour of the flame. The potassium nitrate in the gunpowder acts as an oxidizer to help ignite the metal. In the case of regular crackers, that metal is usually aluminium, magnesium, or titanium-based, to give off a white flame, but there are other options.
It seems the CSIR has been restricted from using barium nitrate in these new green crackers they've produced, which is ironic given that barium nitrate produces a green flame. That's because barium from the smoke and ashes of crackers can end up dissolving in water sources and give people heavy metal poisoning. It's also why mercury has been banned in the new crackers.?
Aside from that, the green fireworks also apparently us zeolite as an additive, which is a non-soluble compound that absorbs metal ions. That should ideally help to reduce some of the metallic compounds in the ashes of the crackers and whatnot.?
But by the looks of it there will be ashes, and smoke, and all the usual atmospheric pollutants that make cities unlivable during festivals. Some reports seem to indicate that the amount of these flammables in the fireworks have been restricted in order to make them both less polluting and less noisy. In that case they would also technically be cheaper to produce, given less material being used. However, there's no real clarity on that.
Except there's another problem. Though these fireworks might be at least a little better than traditional ones, they were only officially launched two days ago on October 7. That's exactly 20 days before Diwali, and sellers that want to market these to the public have to obtain special licences, which many report aren't even being offered yet in most locations.
So what we're likely going to see is a few people trying to buy these green firecrackers, and fewer of them actually finding them. It doesn't matter that the Centre says it's signed agreements with 230 companies to manufacture them. If there are no licences to sell them, sellers won't get them. And if sellers don't have them, most people will just buy regular fireworks anyway and say, "Oh well maybe next year." Still others, especially local religious, cultural, and residential associations with funds, will just go ahead and use the stock of traditional crackers left over from last year. Maybe they'll end up buying more this time too.
But even if we all went out and magically found green fireworks for all of us, there's a fundamental issue here we're not considering. With or without fireworks during festivals, India already has a pollution problem. You bursting crackers a few times a year isn't creating that, but it sure as heck is exacerbating the situation.
So everyone in the country switching to green fireworks doesn't mean that our yearly pollution output goes down. It just means the extra unnecessary pollutants we put into the air when we're celebrating is at most 30 percent less than otherwise. A much, much better solution is instead to forego crackers entirely, because that's a full 100 percent reduction in that particular kind of pollution.
So just stop and think for a minute. Is it really worth it destroying your own lungs for a few minutes of fun?