🔗 Share this article

Tuesday brought inhabitants of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "critical" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Levels

Several parts of the city showed an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to ten times the recommended threshold established by the global health authority.

Particular areas, readings of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, representing 15 to 20 times exceeding healthy standards.

Firecracker Ban and New Policy Shifts

Beginning in 2020, officials had implemented a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during Diwali due to their major role to the deadly smog that engulfs the city as the cold season approaches.

However recently, the newly elected city administration petitioned the highest court to propose a modification of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by conservation groups as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a balance between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Legal Ruling and Enforcement

Despite concerns of public health and environmental advocates, judicial authorities complied with the appeal, stipulating that green firecrackers could be used during limited hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive disregard of the designated hours across the metropolis, with insufficient enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Numerous recording stations throughout Delhi showed contamination reaching highest levels around late evening to the most severe measurements observed during Diwali in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

The widespread use of firecrackers during Diwali also sparked a controversy with bordering Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistan's the Punjab region partly blaming deteriorating air quality in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from India following the festivities.

Chronic Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated concentrations of pollution in the capital have persisted as a major challenge for over a decade and a half, with the situation showing no improvement.

Around celebratory seasons, the levels of dangerous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been found to spike to seventy percent above the worst readings ever measured in Beijing, which was previously viewed as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Multiple Pollution Factors

The problem in the city is resulting from a combination of different contributors including transportation pollution, construction debris, building projects, waste incineration and smoke from agricultural fires in nearby areas of farming communities.

In these regions, agricultural workers illegally set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, creating hazardous haze that then gets trapped over the capital as cooler air descends.

Health and Economic Impact

Both financial and medical impact on the nearly 33 million residents living in the capital region is enormous, according to various research.

This pollution leads to increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing diseases, and can result in cancer.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be causing 10,000 early fatalities each year in Delhi.