🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the world's most polluted city were faced with exposed to dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "critical" level.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Several parts of the capital registered an AQI above 500, which represents ten times the recommended threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, levels of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, equating to 15 to 20 times higher than healthy limits.

Fireworks Prohibition and New Changes

Beginning in 2020, authorities had implemented a total prohibition on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the dangerous haze that engulfs the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

Nevertheless in recent months, the recently formed local administration petitioned the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – historically criticized by conservation groups as being only about 30% less polluting – as a balance between "cultural practices and environment".

Legal Decision and Implementation

Much to the frustration of public health and environmental campaigners, judicial authorities complied with the request, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be ignited during designated hours throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread flouting of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with little regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Numerous recording stations throughout Delhi registered air quality reaching highest levels around midnight to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Consequences

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also sparked a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partially attributing worsening pollution levels in Lahore on pollutants traveling from India following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated readings of air contamination in the city have continued as a significant issue for fifteen-plus years, with the condition showing no improvement.

Near celebratory seasons, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the air has been observed to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst levels ever recorded in China's capital, which was formerly regarded as the globally most contaminated city.

Diverse Pollution Sources

This crisis in the city is resulting from a combination of multiple factors including transportation pollution, dust, construction activities, garbage fires and haze from farm burning in neighbouring regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, farmers illegally set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating dangerous pollution that becomes contained over the capital as colder air sets in.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic impact on the roughly thirty-three million residents living in the capital region is substantial, according to multiple studies.

These hazardous conditions leads to elevated rates of neurological, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

Air quality crisis is projected to be causing approximately 10k untimely deaths annually in the capital.