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Tuesday brought residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to extremely polluted air that was classified as the "alarming" level.

Alarming Pollution Readings

Several parts of Delhi showed an AQI above 500, which represents 10x the safe threshold recommended by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1,800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding safe standards.

Pyrotechnics Ban and Recent Policy Shifts

Since 2020, the government had maintained a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the deadly smog that blankets the capital as winter sets in.

However earlier this year, the newly elected city administration approached the highest court to seek a easing of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmental experts as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Reality

To the disappointment of public health and environmental activists, the court agreed to the appeal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be ignited during specific hours throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the time restrictions across the capital, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Several air quality sensors throughout the city showed air quality peaking around late evening to some of the worst measurements observed during Diwali in at least three years.

International Implications

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during Diwali also initiated a controversy with neighbouring the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing declining atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on contaminants coming from neighboring India following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Problem

The dangerously high concentrations of pollution in Delhi have remained as a serious issue for fifteen-plus years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

During the festival period, the amount of dangerous airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been observed to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the worst readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was once considered as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Multiple Pollution Factors

This crisis in Delhi is resulting from a combination of various sources including transportation pollution, construction debris, building projects, rubbish burning and pollutants from farm burning in nearby states of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, farmers illegally ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, generating toxic smog that then gets trapped over the capital as colder air descends.

Medical and Economic Consequences

The economic and health consequences on the approximately 33 million inhabitants calling home the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various investigations.

The contaminated air leads to increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory conditions, and can result in cancer.

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