🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned citizens of the world's most polluted city encountered breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "critical" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Various sections of Delhi recorded an air quality index over 500, which equals ten times the recommended threshold set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1800, representing fifteen to twenty times higher than acceptable levels.

Fireworks Ban and New Policy Shifts

Since 2020, officials had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during Diwali due to their major role to the dangerous smog that covers the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the newly elected city administration approached the judicial authority to seek a easing of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically doubted by conservation groups as being only about 30% less polluting – as a balance between "heritage and public health".

Legal Ruling and Reality

To the disappointment of environmental and health campaigners, judges agreed to the proposal, mandating that green firecrackers could be ignited during specific periods throughout the celebrations.

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

Many air quality sensors throughout the city recorded pollution reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst levels recorded during the festival in at least three years.

Regional Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during Diwali also sparked a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistani the Punjab region partly blaming deteriorating pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants originating in neighboring India following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Problem

The dangerously high readings of pollution in Delhi have continued as a serious problem for more than 15 years, with the problem showing no improvement.

During Diwali, the concentration of hazardous particles in the environment has been found to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the peak records ever recorded in Beijing, which was formerly considered as the world's most polluted city.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in Delhi is caused by a combination of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, construction activities, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing toxic smog that becomes contained over the city as winter air arrives.

Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million residents living in the capital region is substantial, according to multiple research.

This pollution results in high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung conditions, and can potentially cause cancer.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be accounting for 10,000 early deaths annually in the capital.