🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned residents of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves inhaling severely hazardous air that registered in the "alarming" category.

Record-Breaking Pollution Readings

Multiple areas of the city recorded an AQI exceeding 500, which represents ten times the recommended limit established by the WHO.

Particular areas, levels of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1,800, representing 15-20x exceeding healthy levels.

Fireworks Ban and Current Developments

For the past four years, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the deadly smog that engulfs the capital as winter sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed city leadership approached the judicial authority to seek a easing of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a balance between "cultural practices and environment".

Legal Verdict and Implementation

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological campaigners, the court approved the request, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during specific periods throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was extensive flouting of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout Delhi recorded pollution spiking around midnight to some of the worst measurements seen during Diwali in at least recent memory.

International Consequences

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the festival also initiated a controversy with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani the Punjab region partly blaming worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles coming from India following the festivities.

Chronic Pollution Problem

Extremely elevated concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the capital have persisted as a serious challenge for more than 15 years, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Near the festival period, the levels of hazardous particles in the atmosphere has been found to spike to significantly exceeding the worst records ever measured in China's capital, which was formerly considered as the world's most polluted city.

Diverse Contamination Contributors

This crisis in Delhi is caused by a combination of various sources including transportation pollution, dust, development work, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in adjacent regions of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers regularly ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing hazardous smog that becomes contained over the city as colder air sets in.

Medical and Economic Toll

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million residents residing in the capital region is significant, according to numerous investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

The pollution is projected to be responsible for 10,000 premature mortalities per year in the capital.