🔗 Share this article

On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that fell into the "critical" level.

Extremely High Pollution Levels

Various sections of the capital recorded an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which equals 10x the healthy limit recommended by the global health authority.

Particular areas, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of 1,800, equating to 15-20x above healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Recent Developments

Beginning in 2020, the government had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the hazardous pollution that engulfs the city as colder weather sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the current regional leadership petitioned the highest court to seek a modification of the ban.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically questioned by environmental experts as being only about 30% lower impact – as a balance between "tradition and environment".

Court Verdict and Enforcement

To the disappointment of environmental and health activists, the court approved the appeal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be ignited during limited time windows throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was considerable violation of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Several monitoring devices throughout Delhi recorded air quality spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during the festival in at least three years.

Regional Effects

The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also triggered a dispute with adjacent Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in their urban centers on hazardous particles traveling from across the border following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Problem

Extremely elevated levels of atmospheric toxins in the city have continued as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the problem continuing to worsen.

Around Diwali, the concentration of dangerous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the most severe readings ever measured in China's capital, which was previously regarded as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

This crisis in the city is caused by a mix of various sources including automobile exhaust, construction debris, construction activities, waste incineration and smoke from farm burning in nearby regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, rural residents regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing toxic smog that becomes contained over the capital as colder air arrives.

Medical and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million people calling home the Delhi area is significant, according to numerous research.

The contaminated air leads to high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is calculated to be causing ten thousand untimely mortalities each year in Delhi.