🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves inhaling extremely polluted air that fell into the "severe" category.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Various sections of Delhi recorded an pollution measurement above 500, which represents ten times the safe limit recommended by the WHO.

In some locations, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of 1,800, amounting to 15 to 20 times exceeding healthy levels.

Fireworks Restrictions and Current Policy Shifts

Since 2020, the government had implemented a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the deadly smog that covers the metropolis as the cold season begins.

Yet recently, the current city leadership approached the supreme court to propose a relaxation of the restrictions.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – historically doubted by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Judicial Decision and Reality

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological advocates, the court complied with the request, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during specific hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was extensive flouting of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with little regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Several recording stations throughout the city showed air quality spiking around late evening to extremely hazardous readings observed during Diwali in at least the past three years.

International Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the celebrations also triggered a dispute with adjacent the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab partially attributing declining pollution levels in Lahore on hazardous particles originating in India following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated concentrations of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a major issue for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

During Diwali, the concentration of toxic particles in the environment has been documented to increase dramatically to 70% higher the most severe records ever measured in Beijing, which was formerly considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Diverse Pollution Factors

The problem in Delhi is caused by a convergence of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, construction activities, rubbish burning and haze from agricultural fires in nearby states of farming communities.

Within these states, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating hazardous pollution that then gets trapped over the city as winter air descends.

Medical and Financial Toll

The economic and health toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants calling home the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to multiple investigations.

The contaminated air leads to elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is calculated to be responsible for ten thousand premature deaths annually in the capital.