🔗 Share this article

Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city found themselves breathing dangerously toxic air that fell into the "alarming" category.

Extremely High Pollution Levels

Multiple areas of Delhi showed an pollution measurement over 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the recommended limit established by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, amounting to 15 to 20 times higher than safe limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Developments

Beginning in 2020, authorities had maintained a total prohibition on the sale and use of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the deadly haze that engulfs the city as the cold season begins.

However earlier this year, the newly elected local leadership appealed to the judicial authority to propose a relaxation of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been criticized by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a compromise between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Legal Verdict and Implementation

Despite concerns of public health and environmental campaigners, judges approved the request, specifying that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during specific periods throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was extensive disregard of the regulated periods across the capital, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Several air quality sensors throughout the capital registered air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to the most severe readings recorded during the festival in at least the past three years.

Regional Implications

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali also triggered a controversy with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani Punjab pointing to worsening pollution levels in Lahore on pollutants traveling from India following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Problem

The dangerously high readings of air contamination in the capital have persisted as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Near the festival period, the levels of toxic particulate matter in the air has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the worst levels ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly regarded as the planet's dirtiest city.

Diverse Contamination Factors

This crisis in Delhi is attributed to a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, development work, waste incineration and haze from farm burning in adjacent areas of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, rural residents illegally set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, creating toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the city as winter air sets in.

Public Health and Economic Consequences

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million people calling home the Delhi area is substantial, according to various studies.

This pollution results in elevated rates of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung conditions, and can result in malignancies.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be causing 10,000 untimely deaths annually in Delhi.