🔗 Share this article

As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of this heavily contaminated metropolis encountered inhaling severely hazardous air that fell into the "severe" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Several parts of Delhi registered an AQI above 500, which represents 10x the healthy limit set by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1800, equating to 15 to 20 times above acceptable limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Changes

Beginning in 2020, the government had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during celebrations due to their significant contribution to the hazardous pollution that engulfs the city as winter sets in.

Yet in recent months, the recently formed city administration appealed to the judicial authority to request a easing of the ban.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Reality

Much to the frustration of environmental and health campaigners, judicial authorities complied with the appeal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during specific hours throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was extensive violation of the designated hours across the capital, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout Delhi registered contamination reaching highest levels around the night hours to some of the worst levels recorded during the festival in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Implications

The proliferation of fireworks during the celebrations also triggered a dispute with bordering the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming declining pollution levels in Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from neighboring India following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Issue

Alarmingly severe readings of air contamination in the capital have continued as a significant challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the situation showing no improvement.

Around the festival period, the amount of dangerous particles in the atmosphere has been documented to shoot up to seventy percent above the peak levels ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly regarded as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Diverse Contamination Factors

The situation in Delhi is resulting from a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, building projects, rubbish burning and pollutants from crop residue ignition in adjacent states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, rural residents illegally set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating dangerous pollution that becomes contained over the city as winter air descends.

Medical and Financial Consequences

Both financial and medical impact on the roughly thirty-three million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to various studies.

These hazardous conditions leads to high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can result in cancer.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be responsible for 10,000 early fatalities each year in Delhi.