India's capital Wakes Up to Toxic Smog Following Festival of Lights

On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center encountered inhaling extremely polluted air that fell into the "severe" category.

Alarming Pollution Readings

Multiple areas of the capital recorded an air quality index over 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the safe limit recommended by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of dangerous airborne particles soared to of 1,800, equating to fifteen to twenty times exceeding acceptable standards.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Recent Changes

For the past four years, officials had enforced a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the hazardous pollution that covers the city as the cold season begins.

Yet earlier this year, the current local leadership petitioned the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – previously doubted by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and environment".

Legal Verdict and Reality

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, the court approved the proposal, mandating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during specific hours throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was considerable disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Many air quality sensors throughout Delhi showed air quality spiking around late evening to some of the worst levels recorded during Diwali in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during Diwali also sparked a dispute with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab partially attributing deteriorating atmospheric conditions in Lahore on pollutants coming from neighboring India following the events.

Persistent Environmental Problem

The dangerously high readings of air contamination in the city have persisted as a significant issue for fifteen-plus years, with the problem continuing to worsen.

Near Diwali, the levels of dangerous particles in the air has been observed to spike to significantly exceeding the most severe readings ever recorded in China's capital, which was formerly considered as the globally most contaminated city.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

The problem in the capital is attributed to a mix of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, construction activities, waste incineration and haze from farm burning in neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, farmers regularly ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, generating hazardous smog that becomes contained over the capital as colder air arrives.

Public Health and Economic Consequences

Public health and economic impact on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the capital region is enormous, according to numerous investigations.

The contaminated air causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be responsible for ten thousand untimely fatalities per year in the city.