🔗 Share this article

Tuesday brought citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to severely hazardous air that registered in the "severe" category.

Extremely High Pollution Readings

Various sections of the city registered an pollution measurement over 500, which equals 10x the safe threshold set by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1,800, amounting to 15-20x above healthy standards.

Fireworks Ban and New Developments

For the past four years, officials had implemented a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the dangerous smog that covers the metropolis as colder weather begins.

However earlier this year, the current regional administration approached the highest court to propose a easing of the ban.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically questioned by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a compromise between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Verdict and Reality

To the disappointment of public health and environmental advocates, judicial authorities approved the proposal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during designated hours throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Several monitoring devices throughout the capital recorded air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst readings recorded during celebrations in at least recent memory.

International Effects

The widespread use of firecrackers during the festival also initiated a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in Lahore on pollutants coming from neighboring India following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated readings of pollution in the city have remained as a major problem for over a decade and a half, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Around Diwali, the amount of dangerous particles in the atmosphere has been documented to spike to 70% higher the most severe readings ever documented in the Chinese city, which was once viewed as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in Delhi is attributed to a mix of multiple factors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, development work, garbage fires and haze from farm burning in adjacent areas of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, agricultural workers regularly burn crop residue to prepare for next season, generating toxic smog that becomes contained over the city as winter air arrives.

Public Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the approximately 33 million residents calling home the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to various research.

These hazardous conditions results in high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

The pollution is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k early fatalities annually in Delhi.