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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to extremely polluted air that registered in the "alarming" level.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Several parts of the capital registered an pollution measurement over 500, which translates to 10x the safe threshold established by the global health authority.

In some locations, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of 1800, equating to fifteen to twenty times exceeding acceptable limits.

Pyrotechnics Ban and Current Developments

Since 2020, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the deadly haze that engulfs the city as the cold season approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the current city administration approached the supreme court to propose a relaxation of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically questioned by environmental experts as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Judicial Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of public health and environmental activists, the court complied with the request, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during specific periods throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable flouting of the time restrictions across the city, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout the capital recorded air quality spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous readings seen during the festival in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during the celebrations also sparked a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province partly blaming declining air quality in the city of Lahore on pollutants originating in India following the festivities.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high readings of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a significant challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the situation continuing to worsen.

Around Diwali, the levels of dangerous airborne contaminants in the environment has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the most severe readings ever measured in China's capital, which was previously regarded as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

The situation in Delhi is attributed to a combination of various sources including automobile exhaust, construction debris, development work, waste incineration and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, rural residents regularly burn crop residue to prepare for next season, creating toxic smog that then gets trapped over the city as winter air descends.

Public Health and Financial Impact

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million people residing in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various research.

This pollution causes increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

The pollution is estimated to be responsible for approximately 10k early deaths annually in the city.