🔗 Share this article India's capital Wakes Up to Toxic Pollution Post Diwali As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of this heavily contaminated metropolis encountered exposed to severely hazardous air that registered in the "alarming" category. Extremely High Air Quality Readings Several parts of Delhi showed an air quality index exceeding 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the safe threshold recommended by the WHO. In some locations, levels of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1800, amounting to 15-20x higher than healthy standards. Fireworks Restrictions and New Policy Shifts Since 2020, the government had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous haze that engulfs the metropolis as the cold season begins. Yet earlier this year, the newly elected regional leadership petitioned the judicial authority to seek a modification of the restrictions. They proposed allowing "green crackers" – previously criticized by environmental experts as being only about 30% lower impact – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and public health". Legal Verdict and Reality To the disappointment of public health and environmental campaigners, judicial authorities approved the request, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited hours throughout the celebrations. During the celebrations, there was extensive disregard of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener variety. Many recording stations throughout Delhi registered air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to the most severe readings recorded during the festival in at least three years. Regional Effects The widespread use of firecrackers during the celebrations also triggered a blame game with adjacent Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab partly blaming worsening air quality in Lahore on pollutants originating in India following the festivities. Persistent Environmental Problem Alarmingly severe concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a significant problem for over a decade and a half, with the situation gradually deteriorating. Around Diwali, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been documented to spike to seventy percent above the most severe readings ever measured in Beijing, which was once regarded as the globally most contaminated metropolis. Various Contamination Contributors This crisis in the city is attributed to a convergence of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, construction activities, waste incineration and pollutants from crop residue ignition in neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana. Within these states, farmers routinely burn crop residue to clear them quickly, creating toxic pollution that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as winter air arrives. Health and Economic Consequences Public health and economic toll on the roughly thirty-three million people residing in the capital region is significant, according to multiple research. These hazardous conditions results in high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can even lead to oncological diseases. The pollution is estimated to be causing 10,000 untimely mortalities each year in the city.