🔗 Share this article

On Tuesday morning citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with exposed to extremely polluted air that was classified as the "severe" category.

Record-Breaking Pollution Readings

Various sections of the capital showed an AQI above 500, which equals ten times the recommended level established by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles soared to of 1,800, representing 15 to 20 times higher than safe levels.

Firecracker Restrictions and New Changes

For the past four years, the government had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the dangerous pollution that engulfs the city as winter sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed city leadership appealed to the judicial authority to request a modification of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously criticized by environmentalists as being only about 30% less polluting – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and public health".

Court Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of medical and ecological activists, judicial authorities agreed to the proposal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during limited time windows throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Numerous recording stations throughout Delhi recorded air quality spiking around the night hours to the most severe readings recorded during the festival in at least recent memory.

Cross-Border Consequences

The proliferation of fireworks during the festival also initiated a dispute with neighbouring the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming declining atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles traveling from neighboring India following the events.

Chronic Pollution Problem

Extremely elevated readings of atmospheric toxins in the city have continued as a serious issue for more than 15 years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

During celebratory seasons, the levels of hazardous airborne contaminants in the environment has been found to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the worst readings ever recorded in China's capital, which was formerly regarded as the globally most contaminated city.

Multiple Contamination Factors

The situation in Delhi is resulting from a combination of various sources including automobile exhaust, construction debris, construction activities, garbage fires and haze from farm burning in neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, farmers illegally ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, generating hazardous pollution that becomes contained over the capital as winter air descends.

Health and Economic Impact

Both financial and medical toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the capital region is significant, according to multiple investigations.

The contaminated air leads to high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be causing 10,000 early deaths annually in the capital.