Delhi residents entered Diwali with a narrower choice of fireworks after India's Supreme Court allowed certified green firecrackers in Delhi and surrounding areas for a limited period. The move came as air pollution climbed to hazardous levels, making this the most polluted Diwali festival in a decade.
Certified green firecrackers are designed to produce 20-30% fewer emissions than conventional fireworks. That figure is the limit of the court's practical promise: a reduced-emissions option, not a clean one.
Delhi and green firecrackers
Diwali celebrations began on 6 November with Dhanteras, the day when buying gold, silver or new utensils is considered auspicious and believed to bring good fortune. Across India, the festival is marked by prayers, family gatherings, sweets, oil lamps and colourful lights, but firecrackers remain part of the celebration for many households.
The court's permission covers manufacture, sale and use, but only for certified green firecrackers and only for a limited period. For residents of Delhi and surrounding areas, that means the legal line is now narrower than a full ban, yet broader than an unrestricted free-for-all.
Hazardous air in Delhi
Pollution has long been a concern during Diwali in northern India, where seasonal weather conditions and the burning of crop residue already make the air harder to clear. Firecrackers add to that load, and this year Delhi's air has reached hazardous levels.
That is the complication at the center of the court's order. Critics have questioned how effective green firecrackers are at reducing pollution, and they have also raised the possibility that conventional firecrackers could still make their way into Delhi from neighbouring states. If that happens, the gap between policy and reality will decide how much the air improves.
Whether the limits hold
The allowance does not settle the larger question of whether Diwali fireworks can be contained enough to matter in a city already enduring its most polluted festival season in a decade. The practical test is not the label on the package, but what reaches the street and what burns in the air over Delhi.
For now, residents of Delhi and surrounding areas have a temporary, limited permission for a lower-emission version of a familiar ritual. The open question is whether that compromise will actually keep pollution from worsening further during the festival.
