Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessment of ambient air quality in relation to the burning of firecrackers during the festival of Diwali: A case study of Jodhpur City (India)

  • Research
  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The study attempts to examine the impact of firework activities during Diwali Festival on ambient air quality of Jodhpur city. Air quality parameters particulate matter of diameter 10 μm (PM10), particulate matter of diameter 2.5 μm (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and heavy metals in PM2.5 like Pb, Ni, Ba, Al, As and Sr are monitored at two locations, for 15 days, starting from 7 days before the festival of Diwali, on the day of the festival (Diwali) and 7 days after Diwali. On the occasion of Diwali, it was discovered that the 24-h average levels of various pollutants were significantly elevated compared to regular days preceding the festival. Specifically, at the HBO site, the concentrations were notably increased, with sulfur dioxide (SO2) reaching 5.62 times higher, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at 3 times higher, particulate matter of diameter 10 μm (PM10) at 2.35 times higher, and particulate matter of diameter 2.5 μm (PM2.5) at 1.01 times higher than the usual levels before Diwali. Similarly, at the PTMM site, there were substantial elevations in pollutant concentrations during Diwali compared to pre-festival days, with SO2 registering 2.53 times higher, NO2 at 2.37 times higher, PM2.5 at 1.9 times higher, and PM10 at 1.57 times higher levels than normal. Concentration of Al, Ba, Sr and Pb at HBO site and Al at PTMM site was highest on Diwali day. Air quality index which was in good category on normal days before Diwali, fell into poor category starting from the day before Diwali and remain in poor category on normal days after Diwali. The result indicates the worsening of ambient air quality during Diwali which can adversely impact the human health in terms of various respiratory complications.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All the data generated and analysed during this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

References

  • Ackermann-liebrich, U., Rapp, RIn., Holgate, S. T., Samet, J. M., Koren, H. S., & Maynard, R. L. (1999). Air pollution and health (pp. 559–584). London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambade, B. (2018). The air pollution during Diwali festival by the burning of fireworks in Jamshedpur city, India. Urban Climate, 26, 149–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambade, B., & Ghosh, S. (2013). Characterization of PM 10 in the ambient air during Deepawali festival of Rajnandgaon district, India. Natural Hazards, 69(1), 589–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambade, B., Kurwadkar, S., Sankar, T. K., & Kumar, A. (2021a). Emission reduction of black carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 14(7), 1081–1095.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ambade, B., Sankar, T. K., Kumar, A., Gautam, A. S., & Gautam, S. (2021b). COVID-19 lockdowns reduce the Black carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of the Asian atmosphere: Source apportionment and health hazard evaluation. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23, 12252–12271.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Babu, S. S., & Moorthy, K. K. (2001). Anthropogenic impact on aerosol black carbon mass concentration at a tropical coastal station: A case study. Current Science, 81(9), 1208–1214.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bach, W., Daniels, A., Dickinson, L., Hertlein, F., Morrows, J., Margolis, S., & Dinh, V. D. (1975). Fireworks pollution and health. International Journal of Environmental Studies, 7(3), 183–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barman, S. C., Singh, R., Negi, M. P. S., & Bhargava, S. K. (2008). Ambient air quality of Lucknow City (India) during use of fireworks on Diwali Festival. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 137(1–3), 495–504.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, S., & Kazmin, A. (2018). Dirty air: How India became the most polluted country on earth. Financial Times, 12.

  • Biswas, T., Pal, S. C., & Saha, A. (2022). Strict lockdown measures reduced PM2. 5 concentrations during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kolkata, India. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 8(6), 180.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee, A., Sarkar, C., Adak, A., Mukherjee, U., Ghosh, S. K., & Raha, S. (2013). Ambient air quality during diwali festival over Kolkata - A mega-city in India. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 13(3), 1133–1144.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chauhan, V. S., Singh, B., Ganesh, S., Zaidi, J., & Bose, J. C. (2014). Status of air pollution during festival of lights (Diwali) in Jhansi, Bundelkhand Region, India. Asian Journal of Science and Technology, 5(3), 187–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, T. M., Kuschner, W. G., Gokhale, J., & Shofer, S. (2007). Outdoor air pollution: Nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide health effects. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 333(4), 249–256.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, Y., Engling, G., He, K. B., Duan, F. K., Du, Z. Y., Ma, Y. L., ..., & Weber, R. J. (2014). The characteristics of Beijing aerosol during two distinct episodes: Impacts of biomass burning and fireworks. Environmental Pollution, 185, 149–157.

  • Chowdhuri, I., Pal, S. C., Saha, A., Chakrabortty, R., Ghosh, M., & Roy, P. (2020). Significant decrease of lightning activities during COVID-19 lockdown period over Kolkata megacity in India. Science of the Total Environment, 747, 141321.

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, H. (1997). Air pollution from fireworks. Atmospheric Environment, 31, 2893–2894.

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • GOI. (2014). National Air Quality Index (AQI) launched by the Environment Minister AQI is a huge initiative under 'Swachh Bharat, Retrieved 04 April 2020.

  • Harrison, R. M. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of air pollution analysis. Springer Science & Business Media.

  • Hirai, K., Yamazaki, Y., Okada, K., Furuta, S., & Kubo, K. (2000). Acute eosinophilic pneumonia associated with smoke from fireworks. Internal Medicine (Japan), 39(5), 401–403.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan, S. U., & Ali, N. (2013). Ambient air quality of Aligarh city (UP, India) at Diwali. International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, 3(5), 1730–1732.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulshrestha, U. C., Nageswara Rao, T., Azhaguvel, S., & Kulshrestha, M. J. (2004). Emissions and accumulation of metals in the atmosphere due to crackers and sparkles during Diwali festival in India. Atmospheric Environment, 38(27), 4421–4425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.05.044

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, Y., & Brimblecombe, P. (2017). Regulatory effects on particulate pollution in the early hours of Chinese New Year, 2015. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 189(9), 467.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Li, W., Shi, Z., Yan, C., Yang, L., Dong, C., & Wang, W. (2013). Individual metal-bearing particles in a regional haze caused by firecracker and firework emissions. Science of the Total Environment, 443, 464–469.

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, S., Krewski, D., Shi, Y., Chen, Y., & Burnett, R. T. (2003). Association between gaseous ambient air pollutants and adverse pregnancy outcomes in Vancouver, Canada. Environmental Health Perspectives, 111(14), 1773–1778.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, J., Chen, Y., Chao, S., Cao, H., & Zhang, A. (2019). Levels and health risks of PM2. 5-bound toxic metals from firework/firecracker burning during festival periods in response to management strategies. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 171, 406–413.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lodge, J. P. (1989). Methods of air sampling and analysis. Routledge.

  • Moreno, T., Querol, X., Alastuey, A., Minguillon, M. C., Pey, J., Rodriguez, S., Miro, J. V., Felis, C., & Gibbons, W. (2007). Recreational atmospheric pollution episodes: Inhalable metalliferous particles from firework displays. Atmospheric Environment, 41, 913–922.

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NAAQS. (2009). The Gazette of India, Part III- Section-4, CPCB Notification.

  • Nasir, U. P., & Brahmaiah, D. (2015). Impact of fireworks on ambient air quality: A case study. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 12(4), 1379–1386.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pal, S. C., Chowdhuri, I., Saha, A., Ghosh, M., Roy, P., Das, B., ..., & Shit, M. (2022). COVID-19 strict lockdown impact on urban air quality and atmospheric temperature in four megacities of India. Geoscience Frontiers, 13(6), 101368.

  • Parmar, A. (2018). “Jodhpur the most polluted city in Rajasthan” Times of India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jodhpur/jodhpur-the-most-polluted-city-in-rajasthan/articleshow/66470631.cms

  • Perrino, C., Tiwari, S., Catrambone, M., Dalla Torre, S., Rantica, E., & Canepari, S. (2011). Chemical characterization of atmospheric PM in Delhi, India, during different periods of the year including Diwali festival. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 2(4), 418–427.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rajamanickam, R., & Nagan, S. (2018). Assessment of air quality index for cities and major towns in Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 8(2).

  • Rao, P. S., Gajghate, D. G., Gavane, A. G., Suryawanshi, P., Chauhan, C., Mishra, S., Gupta, N., Rao, C. V. C., & Wate, S. R. (2012). Air quality status during diwali festival of India: A case study. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 89(2), 376–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0669-9

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rastogi, N., Singh, A., & Satish, R. (2019). Characteristics of submicron particles coming from a big firecrackers burning event: Implications to atmospheric pollution. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 10(2), 629–634.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ravindra, K., Mor, S., & Kaushik, C. P. (2003). Short-term variation in air quality associated with firework events: A case study. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 5(2), 260–264.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ruidas, D., & Pal, S. C. (2022). Potential hotspot modeling and monitoring of PM2. 5 concentration for sustainable environmental health in Maharashtra, India. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 8(4), 98.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Saha, U., Talukdar, S., Jana, S., & Maitra, A. (2014). Effects of air pollution on meteorological parameters during Deepawali festival over an Indian urban metropolis. Atmospheric Environment, 98, 530–539.

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saha, A., Pal, S. C., Chowdhuri, I., Ruidas, D., Chakrabortty, R., Roy, P., & Shit, M. (2021). Impact of firecrackers burning and policy-practice gap on air quality in Delhi during Indian’s great mythological event of Diwali festival. Cities, 119, 103384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schindler, C., Ackermann, L. U., Leuenberger, P., Monn, C., Rapp, R., & Bolognini, G. (1998). Associations between lungs function and estimated average exposure to NO2 in eight areas of Switzerland. Swiss study of air pollution and lung diseases in adults. Epidemiology, 9, 405–411.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singla, S., Kesheri, M., Kanchan, S., & Mishra, A. (2019). Impact of Diwali firecrackers on air quality in India and its effect on the health. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences, 10, 155–169. https://doi.org/10.22376/ijpbs.2019.10.2.b155-169

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, R. K., Sagar, K. A. L. P. A. N. A., & Beig, G. U. F. R. A. N. (2015). Comparative study of air quality in Jabalpur during Diwali Festival. International Journal of Advanced Research and Technology, 4(2), 34–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y., Zhuang, G., Xu, C., & An, Z. (2007). The air pollution caused by the burning of fireworks during the Lantern Festival in Beijing, China. Atmospheric Environment, 41, 417–431.

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organisation (WHO). (2000). Air quality guidelines for Europe. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe.

  • World Health Organization. (2013). Ambient air pollution: A global assessment of exposure and burden of disease.

  • Yerramsetti, V. S., Sharma, A. R., Navlur, N. G., Rapolu, V., Dhulipala, N. C., & Sinha, P. R. (2013). The impact assessment of Diwali fireworks emissions on the air quality of a tropical urban site, Hyderabad, India, during three consecutive years. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185(9), 7309–7325.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Rajasthan Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) to provide financial resources for air quality monitoring and Balotra Waste Management Project (BWMP) to complete the monitoring and giving us an opportunity for the current research. Thanks are also due to Parveen Kumar Soni (Assistant Manager), Naval Kishor (Senior Executive), Sujeet Kumar Bharti (Executive Engineer) and Parwej Alam (Engineer) at Balotra waste Management Project for their contribution in carrying out the field monitoring. Special thanks to the Aligarh Muslim University, India and to the Department of Geography of Aligarh Muslim University for supporting and providing with infrastructural facilities for completing this study.

Funding

The authors would like to thank Rajasthan Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) to provide financial resources for air quality monitoring and Balotra Waste Management Project (BWMP) to complete the monitoring and giving us an opportunity for the current research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, 202002, India

    Saleha Jamal, Uzma Ajmal, Md Babor Ali & Mohd Saqib

  2. Balotra Waste Management Project, Balotra, Rajasthan, India

    Shamsul Arfeen

Authors
  1. Saleha Jamal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Uzma Ajmal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Md Babor Ali
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mohd Saqib
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Shamsul Arfeen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: Saleha Jamal.

Data monitoring: Shamsul Arfeen.

Methodology: Uzma Ajmal and Md Babor Ali.

Data curation: Uzma Ajmal.

Mapping: Md Babor Ali and Mohd Saqib.

Formal analysis: Saleha Jamal, Uzma Ajmal and Md Babor Ali.

Final Review: Saleha Jamal, Uzma Ajmal, Md Babor Ali, Mohd Saqib and Shamsul Arfeen.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Md Babor Ali.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

The authors declare no potential interest and there was no animal abuse during this study.

Consent to participate

Every author has equal participation.

Consent for publication

This research work is novel and nowhere has submitted for publication.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jamal, S., Ajmal, U., Ali, M.B. et al. Assessment of ambient air quality in relation to the burning of firecrackers during the festival of Diwali: A case study of Jodhpur City (India). Environ Monit Assess 196, 222 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12382-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12382-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation