🔗 Share this article India's capital Rises to Toxic Smog Following Festival of Lights On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to extremely polluted air that registered in the "critical" range. Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings Various sections of Delhi registered an pollution measurement over 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the safe level set by the World Health Organization. Certain monitoring stations, levels of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, equating to 15 to 20 times higher than safe standards. Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Current Changes Beginning in 2020, authorities had maintained a complete ban on the sale and use of fireworks during Diwali due to their major role to the hazardous smog that engulfs the capital as winter sets in. Yet recently, the current regional leadership petitioned the supreme court to seek a easing of the ban. The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns". Judicial Ruling and Enforcement To the disappointment of public health and environmental campaigners, judicial authorities agreed to the proposal, mandating that green firecrackers could be used during specific hours throughout the celebrations. During the celebrations, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the metropolis, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener version. Many recording stations throughout Delhi registered contamination peaking around late evening to the most severe readings recorded during celebrations in at least recent memory. Cross-Border Effects The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also sparked a controversy with adjacent Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab partly blaming declining air quality in their urban centers on contaminants traveling from across the border following the festivities. Long-Standing Environmental Crisis The dangerously high concentrations of air contamination in Delhi have persisted as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem continuing to worsen. During celebratory seasons, the amount of dangerous airborne contaminants in the environment has been documented to shoot up to seventy percent above the most severe readings ever documented in Beijing, which was formerly regarded as the planet's dirtiest metropolis. Diverse Pollution Sources This crisis in the capital is resulting from a combination of multiple factors including transportation pollution, construction debris, building projects, rubbish burning and pollutants from farm burning in nearby states of farming communities. Throughout these areas, agricultural workers regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, producing toxic smog that remains stagnant over the capital as colder air sets in. Public Health and Economic Impact Public health and economic toll on the nearly 33 million inhabitants residing in the Delhi area is significant, according to multiple studies. The contaminated air causes increased incidence of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung diseases, and can even lead to cancer. Environmental contamination is calculated to be accounting for ten thousand early fatalities annually in the capital.