COVID 19 worries as India Celebrates Diwali amid air pollution

COVID 19 worries as India celebrates Diwali amid air pollution: Last year's festivities were thrown off by a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, but they appear to be returning this year. Diwali, the festival of lights, is being celebrated across India amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic and rising air pollution.


Diwali is traditionally marked by social gatherings and gift exchanges with family and friends.
Many people burn oil lamps or candles to represent the triumph of light over darkness, and fireworks are also put off as part of the festivities.


Last year's celebrations in India were thrown off by a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, but they appear to be back this year.


Despite the government's request that big gatherings be avoided, marketplaces have been bustling in the run-up to Diwali, with enthusiastic throngs buying flowers, lanterns, and candles.

                                      

As dusk came on Wednesday in the northern city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state, more than 900,000 clay lights were lit and stayed glowing for 45 minutes, keeping the Guinness World Record set last year.


Last year, the city lit 606,569 oil lamps as part of its Diwali celebrations. The lamps were ignited at Ram ki Pauri, on the banks of the Saryu River, creating a breathtaking spectacle for thousands of tourists who defied coronavirus social-distancing conventions to flock to its shores.


Following that, a laser and fireworks extravaganza illuminated the city's streets and riverbanks. Thousands of city dwellers burned candles in their homes and shrines. The celebration takes place at a time when India's pandemic crisis is winding down.

Read: How Diwali is Celebrated in India


On Friday, India reported roughly 13,000 new coronavirus cases and 461 deaths, a far cry from earlier this year, when the country was dealing with hundreds of thousands of new infections every day. According to the health ministry, it has resulted in more than 35 million illnesses and 459,000 deaths.
These data are likely to be understated, as they are elsewhere.


Even states where illnesses were soaring just a few weeks ago, like Kerala on the lush Malabar Coast, have experienced a steady reduction.


Last month, India celebrated delivering its billionth COVID-19 vaccination dosage, adding to the sense that life is returning to normal.


Nonetheless, experts have warned that if COVID-19 health precautions are not strictly followed, the festival season could see an increase in diseases.

The Indian capital is choked by toxic pollution.

There are also concerns about air pollution, which blankets northern India in a poisonous grey haze as temperatures drop and winter approaches.


People also burn firecrackers to light up the sky on Diwali night, generating pollution that takes days to clean.


On Thursday, India's capital was engulfed in a thick, deadly haze as millions gathered with relatives and friends to celebrate the festival.

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New Delhi is one of the world's most polluted cities, with a dangerous mix of manufacturing pollution, automobile exhaust, and smoke from agricultural fires collecting in the skies above its 20 million residents each winter.


According to a research published in 2020 by the Swiss organization IQAir, India has 22 of the world's 30 most polluted cities, with New Delhi being the most polluted city on the planet.


In the same year, the Lancet reported that air pollution caused 1.67 million deaths in India in 2019, with about 17,500 deaths in the capital.