🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with breathing severely hazardous air that fell into the "critical" category.

Record-Breaking Pollution Levels

Various sections of Delhi showed an AQI above 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the healthy level set by the global health authority.

In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1800, representing 15 to 20 times higher than healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Recent Policy Shifts

Beginning in 2020, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the deadly haze that engulfs the city as winter sets in.

Nevertheless recently, the newly elected regional government appealed to the judicial authority to seek a modification of the ban.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been doubted by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a balance between "heritage and environment".

Legal Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological campaigners, judges agreed to the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during designated hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive flouting of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with little enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Numerous recording stations throughout the capital recorded pollution peaking around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during the celebrations also initiated a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab province partly blaming worsening pollution levels in Lahore on pollutants originating in India following the festivities.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated levels of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a serious challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the situation continuing to worsen.

Near Diwali, the concentration of dangerous airborne contaminants in the air has been observed to increase dramatically to 70% higher the most severe records ever measured in Beijing, which was formerly regarded as the planet's dirtiest city.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

This crisis in the capital is attributed to a mix of different contributors including transportation pollution, airborne particles, development work, garbage fires and smoke from agricultural fires in adjacent states of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, farmers regularly ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous haze that then gets trapped over the capital as winter air sets in.

Public Health and Financial Consequences

The economic and health toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants residing in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to numerous studies.

The contaminated air results in elevated rates of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause cancer.

The pollution is estimated to be accounting for approximately 10k untimely fatalities each year in the capital.