Fireworks are associated with celebration, luxury, and good fortune. While India is well-known for its love of firecrackers during the October-November festival season, these strings of paper and chemicals are unnervingly terrible for your health, more so now than ever before.
On Tuesday, November 3, Delhi saw its most polluted day of the year, in line with the regular trend. For the foreseeable future, pollution levels in Delhi’s air will continue to rise until an annual record is broken. While this is due to a variety of reasons such as stubble burning and climate change, the Diwali night outpouring of firecrackers is no panacea.
Regardless, whether it’s Diwali, Christmas, Eid, or your birthday party, firecrackers are extremely hazardous to your health.
Pollutants that have a direct impact on health
To begin, your firecrackers cause two types of pollution: air pollution and noise pollution. When a colourful “rocket” flies through the air, the concentration of dust and pollutants rises. Chemicals such as copper, lead, magnesium, salt, and others are discharged with each firework and settle on surfaces. The minute particles, which are accompanied by pollutants such as sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide, have an impact on our health without our being aware of it.
Fireworks are hazardous to one’s health because they spark fires, frighten individuals, notably the elderly, who are in danger of heart attacks, and may cause PTSD in combat veterans.
Furthermore, persons with autism suffer anxiety when confronted with a noise that is loud by conventional standards—which is natural given their exceptional hearing.
The use of fireworks during Diwali raises the concentration of dust and toxins in the air. After burning, fine dust particles fall on the surrounding surfaces, which are laden with compounds like copper, zinc, sodium, lead, magnesium, cadmium, and pollutants such as sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides. These invisible yet dangerous particles have an impact on the environment, putting our health at risk.
The following are the effects of cracker chemicals on human health:
- Copper: The respiratory tract is irritated by copper.
- Cadmium: Causes anaemia by diminishing blood’s ability to transport oxygen.
- Zinc: Induces vomiting and can produce metal fume fever.
- Lead: Lead Is toxic to the neurological system.
- Magnesium: Magnesium fumes produce metal fume fever.
- Sodium: Sodium is a highly reactive element that causes burns when it comes into contact with moisture.
People have recently begun to refrain from exploding firecrackers. Mostly because of rising worries about how bursting firecrackers harms the environment. But the issue we’re going to discuss is that we normally neglect how firecrackers damage animals.
The Effects of Firecrackers on Animals
Fireworks instil fear, stress, and anxiety in animals, hurting them for life or perhaps killing them. Because animals are far more sensitive to sound than humans, firecrackers can cause temporary or permanent deafness.
We are callous by ignoring the condition of the animals and continue to blast crackers every year for our amusement. We fail to comprehend or care for people who are unable to speak or express their feelings. Many animals, including dogs and cats, are distressed by the loud noise. They are, however, not the only ones who are impacted.
Other organisms, such as birds, are compelled to travel long distances after being startled by the loud noise. They frequently abandon their houses. Due to their terror, they sometimes end up slamming into buildings, breaking their necks. Many birds, squirrels, and other small creatures are forced to leave their homes. This occurs when they lose their way to their nests or refuge, leading animals to become confused and panicked. Crackers have also been linked to miscarriage in some species.
In this era of health issues exacerbated by climate change, we recommend switching to candles or diyas for aesthetic enjoyment.
Also Read: The Future of the Indian Healthcare supply chain lies in Digitalization
