🔗 Share this article Delhi Awakens to Dangerous Pollution Following Festival of Lights Tuesday brought inhabitants of the world's most polluted city found themselves inhaling dangerously toxic air that fell into the "severe" level. Extremely High Pollution Levels Multiple areas of Delhi registered an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which translates to 10x the safe level set by the WHO. Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1,800, equating to 15-20x above safe limits. Fireworks Ban and Recent Changes For the past four years, the government had enforced a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous smog that covers the capital as the cold season approaches. However earlier this year, the recently formed regional administration petitioned the judicial authority to request a easing of the prohibition. The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously criticized by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a balance between "heritage and public health". Court Ruling and Enforcement Despite concerns of medical and ecological campaigners, judicial authorities complied with the appeal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during designated periods throughout the Diwali. On Monday night, there was extensive flouting of the designated hours across the city, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener version. Numerous air quality sensors throughout the capital recorded air quality reaching highest levels around the night hours to extremely hazardous levels observed during the festival in at least three years. Cross-Border Consequences Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the celebrations also initiated a controversy with neighbouring the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partially attributing worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on pollutants originating in neighboring India following the festivities. Chronic Environmental Problem The dangerously high concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the capital have remained as a serious challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the condition continuing to worsen. Near Diwali, the levels of toxic particles in the environment has been found to spike to 70% higher the peak readings ever measured in Beijing, which was formerly viewed as the globally most contaminated metropolis. Diverse Pollution Factors The situation in the capital is caused by a mix of different contributors including transportation pollution, airborne particles, development work, waste incineration and haze from farm burning in adjacent states of Punjab and Haryana. Within these states, agricultural workers routinely ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, generating dangerous pollution that then gets trapped over the city as colder air arrives. Health and Economic Impact Public health and economic consequences on the roughly thirty-three million residents living in the Delhi area is significant, according to various studies. These hazardous conditions results in elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and respiratory disorders, and can result in cancer. Environmental contamination is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k early deaths each year in the capital.