🔗 Share this article India's capital Rises to Hazardous Pollution After Diwali On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city found themselves inhaling extremely polluted air that was classified as the "alarming" category. Alarming Pollution Readings Several parts of the city recorded an air quality index exceeding 500, which translates to ten times the recommended threshold set by the World Health Organization. In some locations, readings of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1,800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding safe limits. Fireworks Prohibition and Recent Developments For the past four years, authorities had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the hazardous smog that blankets the city as winter begins. However in recent months, the newly elected regional administration approached the judicial authority to propose a easing of the ban. Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – historically doubted by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a compromise between "cultural practices and public health". Legal Ruling and Implementation Despite concerns of public health and environmental campaigners, judges complied with the appeal, mandating that green firecrackers could be used during designated time windows throughout the festival. On Monday night, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the metropolis, with insufficient enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type. Many monitoring devices throughout the city registered air quality spiking around late evening to some of the worst measurements observed during Diwali in at least the past three years. International Implications Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab province pointing to worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants coming from neighboring India following the celebrations. Long-Standing Pollution Issue Alarmingly severe levels of pollution in the capital have remained as a significant issue for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating. During the festival period, the concentration of hazardous particles in the environment has been found to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the most severe records ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center. Diverse Contamination Contributors The problem in the city is resulting from a combination of multiple factors including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, development work, garbage fires and haze from crop residue ignition in neighbouring areas of neighboring agricultural zones. Within these states, rural residents routinely burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, producing dangerous smog that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as winter air descends. Health and Financial Toll The economic and health impact on the approximately 33 million residents calling home the capital region is significant, according to multiple investigations. This pollution causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can result in malignancies. Environmental contamination is calculated to be causing approximately 10k premature fatalities each year in the city.