Noise and air pollution exploded this Diwali in Thane

Thane: With the new government watering down the restrictions on festivals, Thane residents experienced the most polluted Diwali since 2019, with both sound and air pollution levels substantially higher than in the last four years. According to data released by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Thursday, air pollution levels increased by 4 per cent while noise levels were higher by a whopping 24 percent.

There was a marked increase in particulate matter concentrations, which were as high as 245 µg/m³ on Monday, the first day of Diwali. Noise levels too were between 80 and 110 decibels both in the morning and at night—this was not just on account of firecrackers but also because of DJ music played by political parties in Diwali musicals across the city.

With many pandemic restrictions in place in the last two years, Diwali celebrations in Thane had become comparatively quieter and cleaner. This year, however, with most people celebrating the festival after almost two years, revellers went berserk.

“The permissible Repairable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) limit is 100 ug/mg3. The levels were on the night of Diwali were as high as 245 ug/mg3, as the sheer number of crackers burst across the city was much higher. The Air Quality Index (AQI) which needs to be under 100 for non-polluted air, was around 197 on Monday, the first day of Diwali,” said an officer from TMC. Three days before Diwali, readings by the pollution department of TMC showed the RSPM at 152 ug/mg3 and the AQI at 135.

According to Thane-based environmentalist Vidyadhar Walavalkar, the increase in particulate matter is bound to affect the health of the city’s residents for the next one month. “With decreasing temperatures, it will take a long time for the particulate pollutants to subside,” he told HT. “Thus, there will be many people with complaints of breathing, bronchitis, allergies and colds.”

Walavalkar remarked that there was a “social” reason for the increase in pollution. “While there was no marked increase in the bursting of crackers in slums or middle-class societies, the surge was seen in upper-class societies and in business and trader communities, especially on the day of Laxmi Pujan,” he said. “There needs to be an effort to create awareness in these communities too.”

Manish Pradhan, pollution control officer of TMC, pointed out what he perceived as a positive element in this year’s Diwali. “It is true that pollution levels are high, but during the survey we observed that the use of green crackers—which emit less sound—has also increased,” he said. “The reason for the increased AQI is also on account of cooler weather in the late evening, which leads to the particles settling lower in the atmosphere.”

City-based noise pollution activist Mahesh Bedekar, who has being recording noise levels in the city for over a decade, made an interesting observation: that noise levels in 2018-19, the pre-Covid era, were lower because of self-regulation. “The levels were obviously down in Covid,” he said. “However, all the awareness and self-restrictions of the pre-Covid era were missing this year, with crackers being burst right till midnight. As a society, we need to reflect on this. Even if the government does not put restrictions on crackers, there is a need for some self-regulation. If the same scenario continues, we will be going the Delhi way in the near future.”