India, Oct. 19 -- Ahead of Diwali, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) conducted noise level tests on firecrackers on October 16 near its River Ghat office in Pune. The tests, conducted from four distances, showed that several commonly sold firecrackers likely exceed legal noise limits when adjusted to the standard testing distance of four meters.

As per Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) norms, the maximum permissible noise level is 125 dB(AI) Leq at four meters for individual crackers, and 110 dB(AI) Leq for joined or series crackers.

However, MPCB's measurements, taken at 8.2 meters (27 feet), recorded noise levels between 52.2 dB and 95.3 dB. Since sound intens...