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As Tuesday dawned residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "critical" category.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Various sections of the capital showed an air quality index exceeding 500, which translates to 10x the safe limit set by the WHO.

In some locations, levels of dangerous airborne particles soared to of 1,800, amounting to 15 to 20 times exceeding healthy limits.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Current Changes

Since 2020, the government had implemented a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during Diwali due to their major role to the deadly pollution that covers the capital as the cold season begins.

Yet recently, the current city administration petitioned the judicial authority to seek a modification of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Implementation

Much to the frustration of environmental and health activists, judicial authorities agreed to the request, mandating that green firecrackers could be ignited during limited time windows throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread disregard of the regulated periods across the city, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout the city showed pollution reaching highest levels around midnight to the most severe measurements recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Regional Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also sparked a blame game with adjacent Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to declining pollution levels in the city of Lahore on pollutants originating in neighboring India following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Problem

The dangerously high levels of air contamination in the capital have remained as a serious challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Near celebratory seasons, the levels of dangerous airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been documented to increase dramatically to 70% higher the worst readings ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was once considered as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Various Pollution Factors

The situation in the capital is caused by a convergence of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, building projects, waste incineration and haze from crop residue ignition in adjacent regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers routinely burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, generating toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the city as cooler air arrives.

Medical and Financial Impact

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million inhabitants residing in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to multiple investigations.

The contaminated air results in high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung diseases, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k untimely deaths per year in Delhi.