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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves inhaling severely hazardous air that was classified as the "alarming" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Levels

Several parts of the capital registered an AQI above 500, which equals ten times the healthy limit established by the global health authority.

In some locations, levels of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1,800, equating to 15-20x above acceptable limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Recent Developments

Since 2020, authorities had maintained a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their major role to the hazardous pollution that blankets the city as winter sets in.

However in recent months, the recently formed regional government petitioned the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the ban.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been criticized by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a balance between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Implementation

Despite concerns of medical and ecological advocates, judicial authorities complied with the appeal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during limited hours throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout the capital registered air quality peaking around midnight to some of the worst readings recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Effects

The proliferation of firecrackers during the festival also initiated a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab partly blaming declining pollution levels in the city of Lahore on pollutants traveling from India following the events.

Persistent Environmental Problem

Extremely elevated concentrations of pollution in the capital have remained as a serious issue for fifteen-plus years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Around celebratory seasons, the concentration of dangerous airborne contaminants in the environment has been found to spike to 70% higher the most severe readings ever measured in Beijing, which was once regarded as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Various Pollution Factors

The situation in the capital is attributed to a mix of various sources including automobile exhaust, construction debris, development work, garbage fires and haze from agricultural fires in neighbouring regions of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, rural residents illegally ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing hazardous smog that then gets trapped over the capital as winter air arrives.

Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic toll on the approximately 33 million people residing in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to numerous studies.

The contaminated air results in increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can even lead to cancer.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be accounting for approximately 10k early mortalities per year in the city.