Delhi air pollution hits 59 times WHO limit, data show

New Delhi's air pollution rose to nearly 59 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily limit in one locality early Monday after Diwali fireworks, air monitor data showed.

Around eight hours after the peak of the fireworks, cancer-causing PM2.5 particles reached 879 micrograms per cubic metre in the Mandir Marg area, according to monitoring organisation IQAir, which cited data from a city government station.

Millions of people celebrate Diwali with fireworks in one of the world's most polluted capitals. The Supreme Court this month allowed limited use of so-called green firecrackers, which are designed to produce fewer emissions, but restrictions are routinely flouted.

Authorities have recently restricted traffic and construction as they try to curb smog in New Delhi, which is home to more than 30 million people.

India's environment ministry says vehicles account for 23 percent of Delhi's winter pollution, biomass burning including farm stubble fires for 20 percent, industry including coal-fired power plants for about nine percent, and secondary particles formed by atmospheric reactions for 27 percent.

A 2024 study in The Lancet Planetary Health estimated that 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 were linked to air pollution.