🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with inhaling severely hazardous air that registered in the "alarming" level.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of the city registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which translates to 10x the healthy limit recommended by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of 1,800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times above healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and New Developments

Beginning in 2020, the government had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the hazardous pollution that engulfs the city as the cold season begins.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed regional administration appealed to the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically criticized by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Judicial Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of medical and ecological advocates, judges approved the appeal, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during specific time windows throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was extensive violation of the time restrictions across the city, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Several recording stations throughout the city recorded pollution reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst readings seen during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of firecrackers during Diwali also triggered a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to deteriorating pollution levels in the city of Lahore on pollutants traveling from across the border following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Issue

The dangerously high readings of air contamination in the city have persisted as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Near Diwali, the concentration of toxic airborne contaminants in the air has been documented to shoot up to seventy percent above the most severe records ever documented in China's capital, which was formerly considered as the globally most contaminated city.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

The situation in Delhi is resulting from a convergence of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, development work, waste incineration and pollutants from agricultural fires in nearby regions of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, rural residents illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, producing dangerous smog that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as colder air sets in.

Health and Economic Toll

Both financial and medical consequences on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various investigations.

This pollution leads to increased incidence of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k premature deaths per year in Delhi.