🔗 Share this article

On Tuesday morning residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that fell into the "alarming" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Several parts of the capital recorded an AQI above 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the healthy level set by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, equating to 15-20x above healthy limits.

Pyrotechnics Ban and New Policy Shifts

Beginning in 2020, the government had enforced a total prohibition on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the dangerous pollution that covers the city as winter approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the current regional government approached the judicial authority to propose a relaxation of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a balance between "cultural practices and environment".

Court Decision and Implementation

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, judges agreed to the request, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited time windows throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was extensive violation of the time restrictions across the capital, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Several air quality sensors throughout the capital registered pollution reaching highest levels around the night hours to extremely hazardous levels observed during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Consequences

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also sparked a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province partly blaming worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles originating in neighboring India following the festivities.

Chronic Pollution Issue

Extremely elevated levels of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have persisted as a significant issue for over a decade and a half, with the situation showing no improvement.

Near Diwali, the levels of toxic particulate matter in the atmosphere has been documented to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst readings ever documented in the Chinese city, which was previously viewed as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Various Contamination Contributors

The situation in the capital is caused by a convergence of multiple factors including transportation pollution, airborne particles, construction activities, rubbish burning and haze from crop residue ignition in nearby areas of farming communities.

In these regions, farmers illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous smog that then gets trapped over the capital as colder air descends.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical toll on the approximately 33 million people living in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to various investigations.

The contaminated air results in increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung diseases, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be responsible for ten thousand untimely deaths annually in Delhi.