🔗 Share this article Delhi Wakes Up to Dangerous Smog Post Festival of Lights Tuesday brought residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "critical" range. Extremely High Pollution Measurements Various sections of the city registered an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the safe limit established by the World Health Organization. Certain monitoring stations, levels of toxic particulate matter hit highs of eighteen hundred, equating to fifteen to twenty times higher than safe levels. Pyrotechnics Ban and Recent Changes Since 2020, the government had enforced a complete ban on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during celebrations due to their significant contribution to the hazardous haze that blankets the metropolis as the cold season sets in. Nevertheless in recent months, the current regional government appealed to the supreme court to propose a modification of the ban. They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a compromise between "cultural practices and environment". Court Verdict and Reality To the disappointment of medical and ecological campaigners, the court agreed to the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited periods throughout the celebrations. During the celebrations, there was widespread violation of the regulated periods across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type. Many monitoring devices throughout Delhi registered air quality peaking around midnight to extremely hazardous levels recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years. Cross-Border Consequences The proliferation of firecrackers during the celebrations also sparked a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab partly blaming deteriorating air quality in Lahore on contaminants coming from across the border following the festivities. Long-Standing Pollution Issue The dangerously high concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a serious challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the condition gradually deteriorating. Around the festival period, the levels of toxic particulate matter in the air has been observed to increase dramatically to 70% higher the peak readings ever measured in Beijing, which was previously viewed as the planet's dirtiest metropolis. Various Pollution Sources The situation in the capital is attributed to a mix of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, dust, construction activities, rubbish burning and smoke from farm burning in adjacent areas of neighboring agricultural zones. Throughout these areas, farmers illegally set their fields on fire to clear them quickly, creating toxic haze that remains stagnant over the capital as colder air descends. Public Health and Economic Toll Public health and economic toll on the roughly thirty-three million residents calling home the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to numerous studies. This pollution causes increased incidence of nervous system, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and can potentially cause oncological diseases. The pollution is estimated to be responsible for ten thousand untimely fatalities per year in the capital.