🔗 Share this article The megacity Awakens to Toxic Haze After Celebrations Tuesday brought residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center encountered breathing severely hazardous air that fell into the "critical" level. Extremely High Pollution Readings Several parts of the city showed an pollution measurement over 500, which equals 10x the recommended level established by the global health authority. Certain monitoring stations, readings of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, equating to 15-20x exceeding safe limits. Firecracker Ban and Current Developments Beginning in 2020, officials had enforced a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the dangerous pollution that engulfs the city as the cold season approaches. However earlier this year, the newly elected local administration petitioned the supreme court to seek a easing of the prohibition. They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been doubted by conservation groups as being only about 30% lower impact – as a balance between "cultural practices and public health". Court Decision and Reality To the disappointment of public health and environmental activists, the court agreed to the request, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during designated hours throughout the festival. During the celebrations, there was extensive flouting of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety. Numerous monitoring devices throughout the capital showed contamination spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous readings observed during Diwali in at least recent memory. Regional Implications The widespread use of firecrackers during the festival also initiated a controversy with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants originating in neighboring India following the festivities. Long-Standing Environmental Problem Extremely elevated readings of pollution in the city have continued as a major challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the situation gradually deteriorating. Near the festival period, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to 70% higher the worst levels ever recorded in Beijing, which was once considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center. Multiple Pollution Sources The problem in the capital is resulting from a convergence of various sources including automobile exhaust, construction debris, building projects, rubbish burning and smoke from farm burning in nearby areas of neighboring agricultural zones. Within these states, rural residents regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, generating hazardous smog that becomes contained over the capital as winter air descends. Public Health and Economic Impact Public health and economic consequences on the roughly thirty-three million residents calling home the capital region is substantial, according to multiple research. These hazardous conditions causes high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing diseases, and can even lead to oncological diseases. Environmental contamination is projected to be accounting for 10,000 untimely mortalities each year in the capital.