Delhi Smog Thickens After Diwali Fireworks Despite Court Order Limiting Sales to Green Types

A thick blanket of smog shrouded New Delhi on Monday after firecrackers lit up the skies over India's capital during Diwali celebrations, compounding dangerously high pollution levels. The smog intensified the seasonal air pollution crisis that grips the city every year. Before the festival, India's top court had decreed that only more environmentally friendly fireworks, described as green fireworks, could be set off over the weekend, citing concerns about air quality. Environmental activists have dismissed that approach as a cosmetic measure that does not truly address the city's pollution.

The left-leaning New York Times leads with the court's ruling and the attempt to clear Delhi's air at Diwali. Its headline puts the word green in quotation marks, and it features environmental activists who view the policy as superficial. The excerpt focuses on the rule itself and the criticism of it, and does not describe the smog that followed. France 24, in the alternative category, takes a different angle: it opens with the aftermath on Monday, describing smog over the capital after the celebrations and the yearly pollution crisis, and its available text does not mention the court order or activists. Both agree that Diwali fireworks and air pollution in Delhi are the core issue. Right-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while left-leaning and alternative outlets had.