🔗 Share this article

Tuesday brought citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves inhaling extremely polluted air that fell into the "critical" category.

Record-Breaking Pollution Measurements

Multiple areas of the city recorded an air quality index exceeding 500, which represents ten times the healthy limit established by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, readings of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, representing 15-20x exceeding healthy limits.

Firecracker Ban and Current Developments

For the past four years, the government had maintained a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the deadly smog that engulfs the capital as winter approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the newly elected local government petitioned the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only about 30% less polluting – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Reality

Despite concerns of public health and environmental advocates, judges approved the request, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during specific periods throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread violation of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with little enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Numerous recording stations throughout the capital recorded air quality peaking around the night hours to the most severe measurements seen during Diwali in at least recent memory.

Regional Consequences

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also triggered a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region partly blaming declining atmospheric conditions in Lahore on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

Alarmingly severe concentrations of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have continued as a major problem for over a decade and a half, with the situation showing no improvement.

During the festival period, the amount of dangerous particles in the air has been observed to increase dramatically to 70% higher the worst records ever documented in Beijing, which was once regarded as the world's most polluted urban center.

Multiple Pollution Factors

The situation in Delhi is attributed to a convergence of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, dust, development work, garbage fires and haze from farm burning in adjacent states of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers regularly ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, creating toxic haze that then gets trapped over the city as colder air descends.

Public Health and Economic Impact

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million people living in the Delhi area is significant, according to various studies.

The contaminated air leads to high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory diseases, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is projected to be accounting for 10,000 untimely mortalities each year in the capital.