India’s top court on Monday temporarily banned the sale of firecrackers in and around the capital ahead of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, as it looks to prevent a repeat of severe air pollution that forced school closures last year. New Delhi’s air quality has already hit “very unhealthy” levels, US embassy data shows. “All temporary licenses to sell firecrackers stand cancelled,” said Haripriya Padmanabhan, a lawyer representing the group that sought the ban. Vehicle emissions and dust from construction sites were the factors blamed for that spike, besides firecrackers and farm burnings. India and giant neighbour China together account for more than half of the 4.2 million deaths attributable to air pollution worldwide in 2015, a study by the US-based Health Effects Institute (HEI) showed.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 09, 2017 12:56 UTC