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As Tuesday dawned citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with breathing severely hazardous air that fell into the "alarming" category.

Alarming Pollution Measurements

Several parts of the capital showed an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to 10x the safe limit set by the WHO.

Particular areas, levels of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding healthy standards.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Current Changes

Since 2020, the government had implemented a total prohibition on the sale and use of fireworks during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the hazardous smog that covers the capital as winter approaches.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the newly elected local leadership appealed to the highest court to propose a relaxation of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously criticized by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Legal Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of environmental and health activists, judges complied with the request, mandating that green firecrackers could be set off during limited periods throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive violation of the time restrictions across the city, with little regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous recording stations throughout the capital registered pollution reaching highest levels around late evening to some of the worst measurements recorded during the festival in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Consequences

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the festival also initiated a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing declining air quality in the city of Lahore on contaminants coming from across the border following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Issue

Alarmingly severe levels of atmospheric toxins in the capital have remained as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem continuing to worsen.

Around the festival period, the amount of dangerous particles in the atmosphere has been documented to shoot up to 70% higher the most severe levels ever recorded in China's capital, which was once considered as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

This crisis in Delhi is attributed to a convergence of different contributors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, development work, garbage fires and pollutants from agricultural fires in adjacent regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, rural residents illegally set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous pollution that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as winter air arrives.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical toll on the nearly 33 million people calling home the capital region is significant, according to multiple studies.

This pollution causes increased incidence of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung conditions, and can even lead to malignancies.

Air quality crisis is projected to be responsible for 10,000 early fatalities annually in Delhi.