🔗 Share this article

On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with exposed to dangerously toxic air that fell into the "alarming" range.

Extremely High Pollution Levels

Various sections of the capital showed an air quality index over 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the recommended level set by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1800, amounting to 15-20x above safe standards.

Fireworks Ban and Recent Changes

Beginning in 2020, authorities had enforced a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous pollution that covers the metropolis as the cold season approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the recently formed local government petitioned the highest court to seek a easing of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously doubted by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Judicial Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of environmental and health advocates, the court approved the request, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during designated periods throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was extensive flouting of the regulated periods across the capital, with minimal regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Many air quality sensors throughout the city recorded pollution spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous levels seen during celebrations in at least the past three years.

International Implications

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also sparked a blame game with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province pointing to deteriorating air quality in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles coming from neighboring India following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Alarmingly severe concentrations of air contamination in the city have remained as a serious issue for over a decade and a half, with the condition showing no improvement.

Around Diwali, the concentration of dangerous airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been found to increase dramatically to 70% higher the most severe levels ever documented in Beijing, which was previously regarded as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Diverse Pollution Sources

The situation in Delhi is attributed to a convergence of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, construction activities, waste incineration and pollutants from farm burning in adjacent areas of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, rural residents regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, generating toxic haze that remains stagnant over the capital as winter air arrives.

Public Health and Financial Toll

The economic and health impact on the nearly 33 million residents living in the Delhi area is significant, according to numerous investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in increased incidence of neurological, cardiovascular and breathing disorders, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be causing approximately 10k early deaths each year in Delhi.