Tamil Nadu has limited the use of firecrackers on Diwali to two one-hour periods, with residents allowed to burst them from 6 am to 7 am and again from 7 pm to 8 pm, according to an announcement reported by Dinamalar and attributed to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
The restriction applies to sound-emitting firecrackers and sets a four-hour gap between the permitted morning and evening windows. The announcement asks residents to follow the timings while celebrating the festival.
The Pollution Control Board said the arrangement was issued in line with directions of the Supreme Court for a Diwali celebration that limits noise and pollution. It also advised people to use only environmentally friendly firecrackers.
The announcement places the responsibility for regulating firecracker use within clearly defined time windows. For residents, the permitted periods are 6 am to 7 am and 7 pm to 8 pm. Firecrackers should not be burst outside these windows under the timings communicated by the board.
The guidance is particularly significant in densely populated urban areas, where noise and smoke from firecrackers can affect households, public spaces and neighbourhood streets at the same time. By limiting the hours of use, the state pollution authority has linked festival celebrations to the enforcement of broader environmental controls.
The board’s reference to environmentally friendly firecrackers also distinguishes between the timing of use and the type of product being used. Residents have been advised not only to follow the two permitted periods but also to select firecrackers described by the authority as environmentally friendly.
The announcement follows the Supreme Court’s directions on reducing noise and air pollution during Diwali. The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has communicated the timings as the state-level framework for the reported celebrations, while the pollution and noise restrictions remain connected to the wider legal requirements governing firecracker use.
For city administrations, police and pollution-control officials, the two-hour schedule provides a specific basis for communicating the rules and responding to violations. For residents, the immediate requirement is to plan firecracker use within the two announced windows and avoid sound-emitting crackers beyond the permitted periods.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board’s announced schedule is therefore the key operational instruction for this Diwali: firecrackers may be burst from 6 am to 7 am and from 7 pm to 8 pm, with environmentally friendly products advised in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.
