🔗 Share this article

On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing severely hazardous air that fell into the "alarming" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Several parts of Delhi showed an AQI over 500, which represents 10x the safe limit recommended by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, readings of dangerous airborne particles soared to of 1,800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding acceptable standards.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Changes

Beginning in 2020, officials had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous smog that engulfs the metropolis as winter begins.

However earlier this year, the current regional government petitioned the highest court to seek a easing of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a compromise between "cultural practices and public health".

Judicial Ruling and Implementation

To the disappointment of environmental and health campaigners, the court approved the proposal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during designated hours throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable flouting of the regulated periods across the capital, with little enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Several recording stations throughout the city registered contamination spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during Diwali in at least the past three years.

International Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in their urban centers on hazardous particles traveling from neighboring India following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Alarmingly severe readings of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the situation showing no improvement.

Near Diwali, the concentration of dangerous airborne contaminants in the air has been found to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the peak levels ever measured in Beijing, which was previously considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Contamination Factors

The problem in the capital is caused by a convergence of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, construction activities, rubbish burning and smoke from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing dangerous haze that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as colder air descends.

Medical and Financial Consequences

The economic and health impact on the nearly 33 million residents residing in the Delhi area is enormous, according to various studies.

This pollution results in elevated rates of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is projected to be accounting for approximately 10k untimely deaths per year in the city.