🔗 Share this article

Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city were faced with inhaling dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "critical" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of the capital recorded an pollution measurement over 500, which represents ten times the safe level recommended by the WHO.

In some locations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of eighteen hundred, equating to 15-20x above safe standards.

Fireworks Prohibition and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had enforced a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during celebrations due to their major role to the hazardous pollution that blankets the capital as colder weather approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the current local administration appealed to the highest court to propose a modification of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously questioned by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a compromise between "tradition and environment".

Court Verdict and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of environmental and health activists, judicial authorities approved the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was widespread disregard of the regulated periods across the city, with little enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout Delhi registered pollution spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous levels observed during the festival in at least three years.

Regional Implications

The widespread use of fireworks during Diwali also triggered a blame game with adjacent the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab province partly blaming deteriorating atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles originating in India following the celebrations.

Chronic Pollution Issue

Extremely elevated concentrations of air contamination in the city have continued as a significant challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

Near the festival period, the levels of hazardous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been found to spike to 70% higher the worst readings ever measured in China's capital, which was once regarded as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Pollution Factors

The problem in Delhi is attributed to a convergence of various sources including transportation pollution, dust, development work, garbage fires and haze from farm burning in adjacent areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, agricultural workers regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing hazardous haze that becomes contained over the capital as cooler air descends.

Public Health and Economic Toll

Both financial and medical toll on the nearly 33 million people calling home the metropolitan zone is significant, according to numerous research.

These hazardous conditions leads to elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is calculated to be causing ten thousand untimely mortalities annually in the capital.