🔗 Share this article

On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city found themselves exposed to extremely polluted air that was classified as the "severe" range.

Alarming Pollution Measurements

Several parts of the city showed an pollution measurement over 500, which translates to ten times the recommended threshold recommended by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of eighteen hundred, representing 15 to 20 times exceeding acceptable standards.

Fireworks Restrictions and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the hazardous haze that covers the capital as winter approaches.

However recently, the newly elected regional administration petitioned the highest court to propose a relaxation of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically questioned by environmental experts as being only about 30% less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and public health".

Judicial Decision and Reality

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological campaigners, the court agreed to the request, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during designated periods throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable flouting of the time restrictions across the city, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Many monitoring devices throughout Delhi showed pollution spiking around late evening to extremely hazardous readings recorded during Diwali in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the celebrations also initiated a blame game with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province partially attributing declining pollution levels in their urban centers on hazardous particles coming from across the border following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Issue

Extremely elevated readings of atmospheric toxins in the city have continued as a significant challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the problem showing no improvement.

Around Diwali, the amount of toxic particulate matter in the atmosphere has been observed to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the peak readings ever measured in Beijing, which was previously regarded as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Sources

The problem in the capital is resulting from a mix of various sources including transportation pollution, airborne particles, building projects, waste incineration and smoke from agricultural fires in adjacent areas of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, agricultural workers illegally set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous haze that remains stagnant over the city as cooler air sets in.

Public Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the nearly 33 million residents calling home the Delhi area is substantial, according to multiple investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be responsible for 10,000 early fatalities annually in Delhi.