🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the world's most polluted city encountered exposed to severely hazardous air that fell into the "severe" category.

Alarming Pollution Levels

Various sections of the city registered an AQI over 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the recommended level recommended by the global health authority.

In some locations, readings of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of eighteen hundred, representing 15 to 20 times higher than healthy limits.

Firecracker Restrictions and Recent Changes

Beginning in 2020, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the deadly haze that engulfs the capital as the cold season sets in.

However recently, the newly elected local administration approached the supreme court to propose a relaxation of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically questioned by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Judicial Decision and Enforcement

To the disappointment of medical and ecological activists, the court agreed to the appeal, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during specific hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the regulated periods across the city, with minimal regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Several recording stations throughout the capital recorded contamination peaking around the night hours to the most severe readings recorded during the festival in at least recent memory.

Cross-Border Implications

The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also sparked a dispute with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab pointing to deteriorating air quality in the city of Lahore on contaminants originating in across the border following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Problem

Extremely elevated levels of atmospheric toxins in the city have continued as a major problem for fifteen-plus years, with the situation showing no improvement.

During Diwali, the levels of toxic particulate matter in the atmosphere has been documented to shoot up to significantly exceeding the most severe levels ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly regarded as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Contributors

The problem in Delhi is resulting from a combination of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, building projects, waste incineration and pollutants from agricultural fires in nearby areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, farmers regularly ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing hazardous pollution that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as cooler air descends.

Medical and Financial Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the nearly 33 million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to multiple research.

These hazardous conditions leads to high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung conditions, and can even lead to malignancies.

The pollution is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k untimely deaths annually in Delhi.