Delhi’s Annual Smog Returns: A Crisis Without Accountability

As another post-Diwali haze blankets Delhi, the city finds itself once again gasping for breath. Air quality has plunged into the “very poor” category, following a toxic mix of firecracker emissions, vehicular pollution, and stubble burning across Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Despite decades of warnings and court interventions, the pattern remains unchanged. This year’s debate is marked by contradictory claims — some reports attribute Delhi’s pollution spike mainly to firecrackers, while Punjab’s own data shows a threefold rise in stubble-burning incidents over the past 10 days.

While successive governments tout campaigns promoting eco-friendly practices and machinery for farmers, economic reality still drives crop burning — it remains the cheapest field-clearing method.

The Supreme Court’s partial relaxation of the cracker ban this Diwali further aggravated the situation. “Green crackers” were permitted, but on the ground, restrictions were openly flouted, with heavy use of conventional fireworks well beyond court-specified hours.

As politicians in Delhi and Punjab exchange blame, the people continue to suffer. Hospitals report spikes in respiratory distress, especially among children and the elderly. Experts warn that without coordinated, year-round interventions — not just emergency winter measures — Delhi’s air will remain an annual health hazard.

For now, as winter settles in, the capital coughs, the courts order, and the governments argue — and Delhi’s citizens pay the price, breathing the same poisonous air that has long become the city’s grim seasonal ritual.