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Tuesday brought inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves exposed to extremely polluted air that registered in the "alarming" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of the capital showed an AQI over 500, which translates to 10x the healthy level established by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of eighteen hundred, amounting to 15-20x exceeding safe levels.

Pyrotechnics Ban and New Developments

Since 2020, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the dangerous pollution that engulfs the city as the cold season sets in.

Yet recently, the current city government petitioned the highest court to request a relaxation of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a balance between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Court Verdict and Reality

Much to the frustration of environmental and health campaigners, the court complied with the proposal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during specific hours throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was considerable flouting of the time restrictions across the city, with little monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Many air quality sensors throughout the city registered air quality spiking around the night hours to the most severe measurements seen during celebrations in at least three years.

Regional Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also sparked a controversy with adjacent the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on pollutants originating in across the border following the events.

Long-Standing Pollution Problem

Extremely elevated readings of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a major issue for more than 15 years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

During the festival period, the concentration of dangerous particles in the air has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the most severe records ever measured in China's capital, which was once regarded as the globally most contaminated city.

Diverse Contamination Factors

The situation in Delhi is resulting from a convergence of different contributors including transportation pollution, construction debris, construction activities, rubbish burning and pollutants from farm burning in nearby areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, farmers illegally burn crop residue to clear them quickly, creating dangerous pollution that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as cooler air descends.

Health and Financial Toll

The economic and health impact on the nearly 33 million inhabitants residing in the Delhi area is significant, according to multiple studies.

These hazardous conditions causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing diseases, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is projected to be causing approximately 10k early mortalities per year in the city.