The festive season is soon approaching. One of the most significant festivals in India, the Diwali or Deepavali festival is barely a week away. The festival of lights and lanterns also sees people enjoying bursting of firecrackers as a part of the celebrations. A time of fun, frolic and enjoyment, the practice of bursting crackers is however seeing a change over the years. With more damage to the environment, only green crackers have been permitted to burst in this festival. In Delhi, special rules have been made to curb the air pollution due to these crackers as air quality in the capital has been deteriorating. The Delhi government has said that crackers sold must have a 'Green Cracker' logo on them. But what exactly are green crackers? Read on to know how are these firecrackers different from regular ones.

What Are Green Crackers?

As the name says 'green' these are eco-friendly crackers which are made differently. Firecrackers are usually made with gunpowder and combustible chemicals like barium nitrate which cause the colourful fumes and loud explosion when ignited. Green crackers on the other hand, do not use harmful chemicals like lithium, arsenic, barium or lead. So they do not eliminate much smoke. The emissions in green crackers are said to be reduced by as much as 20 to 30%.

Green crackers have been made since last year by the National Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), a CSIR lab. They have a chemical formulation which produces molecules of water which are emitted like vapour on explosion. Because of these molecules, the emissions levels are lesser and they also absorb the dust so the dust particles do not rise in the air after they are burnt. These crackers eliminate the use of potassium nitrate and sulphur. Diwali 2020: Gurgram Administration Allows Two-Hour Window From 8 PM to 10 PM to Burst Green Crackers.

Some of the names of the green crackers that have been produced earlier are "safe water releaser (SWAS)", "safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL)" and "safe thermite cracker (STAR)". These crackers apparently explode with similar sounds levels of traditional crackers.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 04, 2020 06:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).