Cracking pollution: Green fireworks are not India's long-term solution

Burning crackers during the paroxysms of celebrations that erupt during Diwali and continue after the festival add significantly to the pungent particulate matter in the air

Delhi has the distinction of being the world’s second-most polluted city. Yet the city-state’s government plans to move the Supreme Court to allow the bursting of “green crackers” on Diwali, with the chief minister arguing that the festival is one of the “most significant in Indian culture”. This is a remarkably open abdication of concern for public health by elected persons in the interests of “culture”. The move also reflects a wilful disregard for the extreme air pollution, which descends on the area as the cooler weather sets in, with factors such as agricultural stubble burning adding to the toxic