🔗 Share this article

On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city encountered breathing dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "critical" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Levels

Various sections of the capital recorded an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which represents ten times the healthy threshold set by the WHO.

In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, amounting to 15 to 20 times higher than safe limits.

Pyrotechnics Ban and Current Changes

Since 2020, the government had enforced a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during celebrations due to their major role to the hazardous pollution that blankets the city as the cold season begins.

However earlier this year, the newly elected regional government appealed to the judicial authority to propose a modification of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and public health".

Court Verdict and Reality

To the disappointment of environmental and health campaigners, the court complied with the request, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be ignited during specific hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the city, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Several monitoring devices throughout the city registered contamination peaking around late evening to extremely hazardous measurements seen during the festival in at least the past three years.

International Consequences

The widespread use of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a dispute with adjacent Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab province partly blaming worsening pollution levels in their urban centers on contaminants coming from across the border following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Alarmingly severe readings of atmospheric toxins in the city have persisted as a major challenge for more than 15 years, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of toxic airborne contaminants in the environment has been observed to spike to significantly exceeding the most severe records ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was once regarded as the world's most polluted city.

Diverse Contamination Factors

The situation in the city is attributed to a mix of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, construction activities, rubbish burning and smoke from farm burning in nearby states of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, agricultural workers routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the city as winter air arrives.

Medical and Financial Consequences

The economic and health impact on the nearly 33 million inhabitants residing in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to numerous investigations.

The contaminated air causes high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be causing approximately 10k early mortalities annually in Delhi.