🔗 Share this article Delhi Rises to Hazardous Haze Post Festival of Lights As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves inhaling severely hazardous air that was classified as the "critical" range. Extremely High Air Quality Readings Various sections of the capital registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which equals ten times the healthy limit recommended by the WHO. In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding healthy limits. Fireworks Ban and Current Policy Shifts Beginning in 2020, the government had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the hazardous haze that engulfs the metropolis as colder weather sets in. Nevertheless recently, the newly elected regional administration appealed to the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the prohibition. The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically questioned by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a balance between "heritage and environment". Court Decision and Implementation To the disappointment of environmental and health activists, judicial authorities agreed to the proposal, mandating that green firecrackers could be ignited during specific time windows throughout the celebrations. On Monday night, there was considerable disregard of the designated hours across the metropolis, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly version. Numerous monitoring devices throughout the city showed contamination spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements seen during the festival in at least recent memory. Cross-Border Effects Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during the festival also initiated a blame game with adjacent the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab province pointing to deteriorating pollution levels in the city of Lahore on pollutants traveling from neighboring India following the festivities. Persistent Environmental Problem The dangerously high levels of pollution in the city have persisted as a significant challenge for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating. During the festival period, the concentration of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been observed to spike to seventy percent above the worst records ever documented in the Chinese city, which was previously viewed as the world's most polluted urban center. Multiple Contamination Contributors The problem in the capital is caused by a combination of different contributors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, building projects, waste incineration and haze from farm burning in neighbouring regions of Punjab and Haryana. Within these states, farmers regularly ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, generating toxic haze that then gets trapped over the city as cooler air descends. Public Health and Financial Consequences Public health and economic toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various investigations. This pollution leads to high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory disorders, and can even lead to oncological diseases. The pollution is projected to be causing ten thousand premature deaths each year in the city.