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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the world's most polluted city found themselves inhaling severely hazardous air that was classified as the "critical" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings

Several parts of Delhi showed an AQI above 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the safe level established by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, levels of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of eighteen hundred, representing 15 to 20 times above acceptable limits.

Firecracker Restrictions and Current Developments

Since 2020, the government had implemented a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during celebrations due to their significant contribution to the hazardous pollution that covers the metropolis as colder weather begins.

Yet in recent months, the newly elected local leadership appealed to the supreme court to request a modification of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically doubted by environmental experts as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Decision and Enforcement

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, judges complied with the request, mandating that green firecrackers could be used during designated time windows throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Several monitoring devices throughout Delhi showed pollution reaching highest levels around late evening to some of the worst readings seen during celebrations in at least the past three years.

International Effects

The proliferation of fireworks during the festival also initiated a blame game with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab pointing to declining air quality in Lahore on hazardous particles originating in neighboring India following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated levels of pollution in the city have persisted as a major issue for more than 15 years, with the situation showing no improvement.

Around Diwali, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the environment has been documented to shoot up to seventy percent above the peak readings ever documented in China's capital, which was previously considered as the world's most polluted urban center.

Various Contamination Sources

The situation in the capital is caused by a convergence of multiple factors including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, construction activities, rubbish burning and pollutants from farm burning in nearby regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, agricultural workers routinely set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, producing toxic haze that then gets trapped over the city as cooler air sets in.

Health and Financial Impact

The economic and health consequences on the roughly thirty-three million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to multiple investigations.

The contaminated air leads to increased incidence of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing disorders, and can result in oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k early fatalities per year in Delhi.