🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to severely hazardous air that was classified as the "severe" level.

Alarming Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of the city showed an air quality index over 500, which translates to 10x the healthy limit established by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding safe standards.

Firecracker Prohibition and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, the government had maintained a total prohibition on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the hazardous pollution that blankets the metropolis as colder weather sets in.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the recently formed local leadership appealed to the judicial authority to propose a easing of the ban.

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

Judicial Decision and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of public health and environmental advocates, the court complied with the request, stipulating that green firecrackers could be used during specific periods throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was widespread disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout the city registered air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst measurements seen during celebrations in at least three years.

International Effects

The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also triggered a controversy with bordering Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to worsening air quality in the city of Lahore on contaminants originating in India following the festivities.

Long-Standing Pollution Problem

Alarmingly severe readings of atmospheric toxins in the capital have persisted as a serious problem for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

Around the festival period, the concentration of toxic airborne contaminants in the environment has been found to increase dramatically to 70% higher the worst readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously considered as the world's most polluted city.

Various Pollution Sources

The problem in the capital is attributed to a combination of various sources including automobile exhaust, dust, building projects, rubbish burning and haze from crop residue ignition in neighbouring regions of farming communities.

In these regions, rural residents routinely ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing toxic smog that becomes contained over the capital as winter air sets in.

Medical and Financial Toll

Public health and economic toll on the nearly 33 million people calling home the Delhi area is enormous, according to various studies.

These hazardous conditions results in increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and lung diseases, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be causing 10,000 early fatalities each year in the city.