(Image source from: Why Kejriwal Asked Delhi Citizens Not To Burst Crackers For Diwali?})

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged people not to convert the festival of lights into a "festival of smoke" as Delhi is struggling from the acute problem of air pollution and may assume "dangerous proportions" at the time of Diwali.

Kejriwal said in a pre-Diwali message, which was released through newspaper advertisements, that, "On this occasion of happiness, I want to make an appeal. Our Delhi is struggling with an acute problem of air pollution, which assumes dangerous proportions on Diwali due to bursting of fireworks and crackers."

Chief Minister noted possible adverse effects of smoke released from firing crackers on children and adults and appealed people to be away from setting crackers saying, “Let us not convert the festival of lights into festival of smokes.”

Facts about Air pollution in Delhi

•    Delhi’s air pollution on Wednesday is measured to be poorer than that of Singapore.
•    The particulate matter levels (PM)2.5 calibrated near the Parliament in New Delhi were 27 times more than the safety level, as per bloomberg.com.
•    In Delhi, a reading of 675 micrograms per cubic meter of air was measured.
•    The US embassy termed Delhi’s air as hazardous and advised citizens not to indulge in any physical activity vulnerable to children and citizens.
•    Punjab farmers added to the already existing pollution from vehicles and industries, after burning their crops, increasing toxic levels drastically.
•    Delhi has very poor monitoring means to emissions.
•    Diwali may only add to existing levels of air pollution incase crackers are set, leading to severe health hazards.

-Sumana