🔗 Share this article

Tuesday brought residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "alarming" level.

Alarming Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of the city registered an air quality index above 500, which translates to 10x the safe limit established by the WHO.

In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1,800, amounting to 15-20x higher than healthy limits.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Current Developments

Beginning in 2020, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the deadly haze that covers the city as winter sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed local government approached the highest court to seek a easing of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only about 30% less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Enforcement

To the disappointment of public health and environmental campaigners, judicial authorities agreed to the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during limited time windows throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread violation of the regulated periods across the capital, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Many air quality sensors throughout Delhi recorded air quality peaking around the night hours to some of the worst readings observed during Diwali in at least three years.

International Consequences

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a blame game with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province pointing to deteriorating atmospheric conditions in Lahore on hazardous particles coming from neighboring India following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Issue

Extremely elevated levels of pollution in the city have remained as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

During Diwali, the concentration of hazardous airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been documented to shoot up to 70% higher the peak levels ever recorded in China's capital, which was once considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in the capital is attributed to a combination of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, building projects, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers routinely set their fields on fire to clear them quickly, generating toxic haze that remains stagnant over the capital as cooler air sets in.

Health and Economic Consequences

Both financial and medical consequences on the roughly thirty-three million residents calling home the capital region is significant, according to numerous research.

This pollution leads to increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and lung diseases, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

The pollution is calculated to be responsible for 10,000 untimely deaths annually in Delhi.