A single day of bursting firecrackers can cause health damage that lasts long after the festival, and the bursting crackers health damage from Diwali 2026 was visible in Delhi within hours. Environmentalists called the capital’s air a public health emergency a day after the celebrations, as firecracker emissions piled on top of air that was already toxic. The official air quality index scale goes up to 500, and anything above 400 is classified as severe, because the scale does not measure beyond that. Delhi’s readings went past 500, and private monitors recorded levels between 1,200 and 1,500 after about three hours of firecracker bursting.
The bursting crackers health damage starts with the particles in the air. PM2.5 levels in Delhi went from 300 in the morning to about 1,000 at night on Diwali, and environmentalist Vimlendu Jha said the concentrations of PM2.5 had increased by at least four times. Air quality levels were around 400 before the celebrations, and the firecrackers made a very big contribution to the spike. Environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari said Delhi was already struggling with toxic air before Diwali, and that the bursting of firecrackers had added another massive burden of particulate pollution, posing serious challenges for people with respiratory problems and other disorders.
The chemicals in the smoke add to the bursting crackers health damage. Firecrackers are made of about 75% potassium nitrate, 15% carbon and 10% sulphur, and when they burst they release oxides of carbon, sulphur and nitrogen, along with heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, copper, manganese and zinc. Studies have found that levels of these gases rise by more than 100% during Diwali, adding to the bursting crackers health damage in the days that follow. The suspended particles hang in the air like a thick blanket, reducing visibility and suffocating the atmosphere, and the early warning system forecast severe air quality for the next few days. Jha said the impact of firecrackers might last for one to three days, but the immediate spike in particulate matter could be substantial.
Bursting crackers health damage to eyes and ears
The bursting crackers health damage reaches beyond the air. At Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka, Delhi, doctors treated 15 patients with firecracker-related injuries during the festival, including 11 with eye injuries and four with burns on other parts of the body. Nine of the 11 patients with eye injuries had foreign particles embedded in their eyes, reportedly linked to shot patakas, which can send particles flying at high speed. The patients were aged between 13 and 49 years, with the youngest victim just 13. The injuries ranged from scratches on the clear front surface of the eye to open-globe injuries, in which the outer wall of the eye is damaged and eyesight is threatened.
Dr Prashaant Chaudhry, senior consultant and head of ophthalmology at Aakash Healthcare, said the high number of cases with particles stuck in the eyes was a major concern. He said such particles can scratch the surface of the eye and cause serious damage, and in some cases the injury can be deep enough to threaten vision. What is worrying, he said, is that these injuries can happen within seconds and may have lasting effects. He warned people against rubbing an injured eye or trying to remove a particle stuck inside it, since even a small object can cause further damage if handled incorrectly.
Noise is the third kind of bursting crackers health damage. Firecrackers often burst at more than 140 decibels at close range, far beyond the safe limit for human hearing, and prolonged exposure to sound above 85 decibels can cause permanent damage to the ear. A single bang slams the eardrum and bends the tiny hair-like cells in the inner ear far past their limit, and those cells do not regrow. The damage can build into tinnitus or hearing loss, and in older adults and people with certain medical conditions, the loud noise may cause anxiety and panic attacks.
Bursting crackers health damage and who is most at risk
The bursting crackers health damage falls hardest on children and the elderly, and on people with heart, lung or nervous system diseases. Doctors report more cases of asthma in the period immediately following Diwali, and pulmonologists say fireworks can provoke childhood bronchial asthma. The irritation of the airways and eyes, burning sensations in the nostrils, throat and chest congestion, coughing and smarting of the eyes are the milder effects, while aggravation of asthmatic attacks, allergies and chest infections are the more serious ones. The Supreme Court had restricted firecrackers, but Jha said crackers were burst in several parts of Delhi on Diwali night despite the directions, and enforcement was inadequate. The bursting crackers health damage from this Diwali will keep showing in hospital records for weeks.