Overview
- Clinicians say rising post-monsoon pollution combined with Diwali and Kali Puja firecracker emissions can trigger asthma, COPD flare-ups and cardiovascular events in vulnerable people.
- Medical teams advise limiting outdoor time once the air quality index exceeds about 100, wearing well-fitting N95 masks outdoors and using HEPA filtration indoors to cut particle exposure.
- Doctors note firecrackers release PM2.5 and PM10 along with nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide; PM2.5 can reach deep lungs and enter the bloodstream to worsen respiratory and heart conditions.
- Even so-called 'green crackers' are not harmless because lower emissions can still provoke asthma attacks and raise cardiac risk, doctors warn.
- Last year monitoring recorded sharp festival-night AQI spikes across Kolkata and Howrah (examples include readings above 160 in central Kolkata and above 300 at some Howrah sites), reflecting how local weather and routine winter pollution sources concentrate harm.