The Supreme Court oscillates between imposing a complete ban on firecrackers and allowing green crackers on Diwali. The festival invites a curious debate on air pollution control, as AQI jumps on and after Diwali. Despite the gains made in cleaning the air in recent years, the top court is disappointed with laxity in implementation of its orders. Marginal relief is no relief for a city that goes breathless in November. As the festival approaches again, the city has started to gasp, wondering what mechanism can plug holes in its clean air plan, argues city team.
As firecrackers make their way back into the Delhi markets, most citizens believe that it would hurt their lungs more than the ban hurt sentiments. With Diwali approaching, the air quality continues to stay in the ‘poor’ category with temporary relief now and then. However, when 18 of the 54 monitoring stations recorded ‘poor’ air quality, while 25 remained in the ‘very poor’ category, firecrackers don’t seem to be a good idea.
Although the top court, while removing the “blanket ban on firecrackers”, had issued a set of guidelines, they are hardly followed in the city’s markets. The Supreme Court had said it will not impose a complete ban on crackers since it may “hurt sentiments”.
However, it had said that it will not allow them throughout the day since it will have a huge impact on every living being, including the old, sick and children. That clause in the statement, however, seemed to have been forgotten even before the ink got dry.
The contradiction
The crackers that have filled the market are anything but what the court agreed to allow. They carry banned ingredients, wrong labels, and fake QR codes. Also, the government endorsed it, and the Supreme Court is considering the ‘next-generation joined green crackers’, developed in collaboration with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), as an alternative. However, the only problem with this is that the sellers do not even know what they are.
The blatant violation for those living in the capital, where air pollution makes international headlines around this very time of season, is worrisome.
The problem with the firecrackers is not new. The matter was filed before the court in 1985. Four decades down the line, the matter still continues. Orders after orders have been passed by the courts. Every single order has been violated and breached.
Contempt petitions have been filed. A CBI enquiry was ordered. The authorities have conducted raids, arrested people, and seized stocks of banned items to be used in making crackers. The probe agency’s report said manufacturers violated the law. They got stocks of barium despite having as many as seven bans being imposed by the top court. Yet, the question remains, whose responsibility was it to implement the ban?
Even the Supreme Court was forced to say, “There is no point passing orders. Unless on the ground you really give effect to it. It becomes mere mockery then.”
Courts and its conversations
The courts have played a significant role in shaping the debate and policy surrounding the use of firecrackers in the country, with judicial interventions keeping restrictions in place for several years. However, the top court’s recent approach has reflected an attempt to balance environmental concerns with public sentiment and religious traditions, allowing regulated celebrations rather than imposing a blanket prohibition.
During a hearing on the issue, the amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court maintained that a ban remained necessary in the absence of a foolproof enforcement mechanism. “Considering the material on record, we feel that the ban is absolutely necessary. Unless they can come up with a foolproof enforcement mechanism. There hasn’t been a total and absolute ban on fireworks. Definitely not in this season,” the amicus curiae submitted.
Those advocating the sale of firecrackers, however, argued that a complete ban had failed to achieve its intended purpose. They contended that restrictions had instead fuelled the black market, encouraged the proliferation of Chinese-made fireworks and led to the sale of unlicensed products. According to this argument, regulation and enforcement were more effective than an outright ban, with supporters maintaining that the debate should not be reduced to a binary choice between people’s health and their right to celebrate.
The bench acknowledged these submissions but also flagged the continuing deterioration in air quality, observing that pollution levels had witnessed a substantial escalation despite the existing restrictions. “We also understand the sentiment of the public. Somebody wants to celebrate. Therefore, we are not inclined to impose a complete ban because, again, it will have a spiralling effect. But having said that, please don’t push us to take a harsh stand on it,” the bench observed.
Urging authorities to strengthen enforcement, the judges asked officials to focus on the days surrounding celebrations and take action against violations through challans, cancellation of licences and legal proceedings. “Change of mind will take time,” the bench noted, emphasising that enforcement must accompany efforts to encourage behavioural change. The court also directed the Centre to make a “conscious effort” towards regulating the sale of firecrackers, stressing that authorities should tighten oversight of sellers. The observations underline the continuing challenge before policymakers—reconciling environmental protection and public health with cultural practices while ensuring that regulatory measures are effectively implemented.
The adverse effect
To understand the veracity of the impact, one needs to understand what happens when the crackers are burst. To answer that, bursting firecrackers releases a huge amount of particulate matter (PM), i.e., PM 10 and PM 2.5. Now this is a term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air, and because these are so tiny, they enter into our nostrils and our lungs, and from the lungs they enter the bloodstream, and they are found all over the body, including in the human brain; they cross all membranes within the human body.
Also, out of particulate matters, the PM 2.5 particles are the most dangerous. To understand the context, if one stands on the ground, takes a PM 2.5 particle, and drops it from his waist’s height, it will take one month for it to hit the ground. It remains in the ambient air continuously. Hence, even if it’s just two days or three days of fireworks or a few hours, it remains in the air for up to three months.
Digging deeper, crackers use barium salts, which give fireworks a vivid green flame and provide oxygen to help the powder burn fast. However, burning barium sends toxic particulate matter into the air, which harms the lungs and heart. Swallowing firecrackers with barium causes rapid drops in blood potassium (hypokalaemia), leading to muscle weakness, heart rhythm problems, and breathing failure.
Toxic gas residues are also released as a result of the combustion of various chemicals, metals, etc., that are used in firecrackers for colour and sound. To demonstrate the link between crackers and air pollution, the days following Diwali have brought a sharp decline in Delhi-NCR’s air quality, with hospitals reporting a surge in respiratory and pregnancy-related complications. The court had hence allowed only green crackers, which involve products that do not include barium, lithium, arsenic, antimony, lead and mercury.
The adverse effects don’t just stop at the lungs. Air pollution poses serious risks to both the heart and brain. Fine particulate matter can make blood more prone to clotting, increasing the short-term risk of heart attacks, irregular heartbeats and strokes. It can also cause blood vessels to tighten and stiffen, raising blood pressure. In the brain, tiny particles can enter and damage cells, trigger swelling, disrupt protective barriers and injure blood vessels. Long-term exposure may accelerate memory loss, increase the risk of dementia due to vascular damage and raise susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases.
The University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute puts matters into a better perspective. After witnessing a decline in PM2.5 levels in 2022, the Institute’s Air Quality Life Index report in 2023 noted that going back to the World Health Organization’s prescribed levels could add anywhere between three to five years to the life of an average Indian. But ground realities differ: concentrations in 2023 recorded levels standing at over eight times the prescribed limit.
The report added that if all of India were to reduce particulate pollution to meet the guidelines, residents in Delhi-NCR would see the maximum benefits, with residents gaining over eight years in life expectancy.
The impact of the billowed smoke is well-documented, with research explicitly stating that air pollutants do not stop at disproportionately damaging the lungs but affect all organs alike in the human body. It can be further linked to cardiovascular health deterioration, the onset of multiple cancers, and strokes, among other long-term health hazards.
There is also an established link between air pollution and congenital defects, low birth weight and foetal deaths. Thoracic, or chest, surgeons practising across the national capital have observed that while in 40 years ago, they normally saw healthy pink lungs among their patients except for smokers, it is now exceedingly common to see patients with black lung deposits. The norm continues even among children as young as between 14 and 16 years of age with no apparent history of smoking. This makes it clear that air pollution from cracker and other sources are big contributors to a major healthcare trend in the region.
The cause remains
According to a survey submitted to the Supreme Court in 2021, most of the ‘green crackers’, upon being tested, were found to contain the banned chemicals and were sold with fake QR codes printed on their packaging, which were meant to show standard conformity. That led to the now-considered ‘next-generation joined green crackers’. Adding to the irony, retailers have no idea about court-mandated orders and the restricted sale of strictly ‘next-generation green’ firecrackers.
So, what are they supposed to sell? Testifying in court is one thing, but ensuring availability and enforcement in the market is quite another. Moreover, if the past has taught us anything, it’s that problems associated with firecrackers are only going to become more serious. Following a gap of several years, the SC, in 2025, granted some relaxation on firecrackers. It permitted the bursting of firecrackers only between an allocated period between October 19 and 20 and laid down strict fixed timeframes during the morning and evening. Despite this, as was witnessed, rules were indiscriminately violated. And Delhi ended up completely blanketed in smoke.
And it’s not as if the problem is limited to last year. Just recently, the weeks around Dussehra that lead up to Diwali, Delhi was again battering with smoke. On Dussehra evening at 4:00 PM, Delhi’s air quality stood at 179. After celebrations concluded that evening, the figure sharply climbed and peaked at 245 the same time the following day. Experts attributed the jump mainly to firecracker use.