The Nepal Weekly 
October 30, 2025
As of Wednesday October 22, New Delhi’s PM 2.5 concentration – a measure of pollutants in the air – was more than 40 times the World Health Organization’s standard level, according to Swiss air quality monitoring company IQAir. That caused health hazard to around 20 million people in India’s capital. This was the result of firecrackers and fireworks burnt to celebrate Diwalee, the great festival of the Hindus.
New Delhi grapples with severe year-round pollution, but the winter months are typically worst, when millions of farmers in surrounding regions burn stubble in their fields to clear the way for the next crop.
The sharp deterioration in air quality this week comes following celebrations for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, which traditionally involves the widespread use of firecrackers that release sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides into the air, as well as poisonous heavy metals.
In 2020, authorities enacted a complete ban on making, selling or using firecrackers in New Delhi, citing hazardous pollution levels. This year, the Supreme Court permitted the use of so-called “green” firecrackers – which manufacturers claim are less polluting – but only within a certain time window. However, residents reported that this curfew was poorly enforced, with people bursting firecrackers long after the deadline, and that “non-green” firecrackers still appeared to be available.
Despite the city being the political heart of the country, officials have had little success in cleaning up Delhi’s toxic air.
Previous attempts to curb pollution have included sprinkling water on the roads, restricting traffic by requiring vehicles with odd or even license plates to travel on alternating days, and constructing in 2018 two smog towers worth 200 million rupees ($2.4 million), intended to act as giant air purifiers.
But a lack of strict enforcement and coordination means progress has been slow, experts suggest.
India is also desperate to fuel its booming economy and meet the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people.
For the immediate remedy, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday said cloud seeding is essential for the national capital as it could play a key role in controlling rising pollution levels during the winter season.
Ms. Gupta said, “Cloud seeding is something that has never happened before. We want to carry out this trial over the city as it could help reduce air pollution. We believe this technology will be successful. It can be used to tackle environmental challenges in the future, especially those faced during the winter months,” she added.
Later, Delhi’s artificial rain project marked a major success with the first-ever cloud seeding trial over Burari on Thursday. Conducted jointly by the Delhi Government and IIT Kanpur, the experiment aims to reduce the city’s rising air pollution levels by inducing artificial rain. A Cessna aircraft operated by IIT Kanpur carried out a four-hour proving flight from Kanpur to Delhi and back. During the flight, cloud-seeding flares were fired between Khekra and Burari to test the system’s readiness, coordination among agencies, and equipment efficiency. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said this was a “technological milestone” in Delhi’s fight against pollution. If weather conditions remain favourable, Delhi could experience its first artificial rainfall on October 29, she added.
