ON DIWALI night, the smell of acrid smoke permeated the atmosphere, making driving through the roads of Ahmedabad treacherous not just due to fear of a stray firecracker finding its way to vehicles or the loud sounds of ‘sutli’ bombs startling drivers, but because the air was toxic and motorists were barely able to see more than 20 feet ahead due to the heavy smog settling at ground level, rendering even street-lights dim.

Against the WHO standard of PM2.5 levels at 15 μg/m3 (microgram per cubic metre), and PM10 levels at 45 μg/m3 in 24 hours average calculation, the average PM2.5 concentration in Ahmedabad reached 156 μg/m3 (10 times), and PM10 concentration reached 207 μg/m3 (4.6 times) in the 24-hour-period between 4 pm on October 20 and 4 pm on October 21.

The air pollution data co

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