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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves breathing severely hazardous air that registered in the "critical" level.

Alarming Pollution Measurements

Various sections of the capital recorded an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which translates to ten times the healthy limit set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of eighteen hundred, representing fifteen to twenty times higher than acceptable limits.

Fireworks Ban and New Developments

Since 2020, the government had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the hazardous pollution that engulfs the capital as the cold season sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed city government approached the highest court to seek a easing of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically questioned by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and public health".

Court Ruling and Reality

Despite concerns of medical and ecological advocates, judges complied with the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during designated hours throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the metropolis, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Many recording stations throughout the city showed air quality peaking around the night hours to the most severe measurements recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the festival also triggered a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province partially attributing deteriorating atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on pollutants coming from across the border following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high readings of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a major challenge for over a decade and a half, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Around the festival period, the concentration of dangerous particles in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst records ever recorded in Beijing, which was once considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Factors

The problem in Delhi is caused by a mix of different contributors including transportation pollution, airborne particles, construction activities, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in neighbouring areas of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, rural residents regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, creating hazardous smog that becomes contained over the capital as winter air descends.

Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic impact on the roughly thirty-three million people calling home the Delhi area is significant, according to multiple studies.

The contaminated air results in high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory disorders, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for 10,000 premature mortalities per year in the city.