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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with inhaling severely hazardous air that fell into the "severe" level.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Various sections of the capital registered an pollution measurement exceeding 500, which equals ten times the safe threshold established by the WHO.

In some locations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of eighteen hundred, amounting to fifteen to twenty times above acceptable limits.

Pyrotechnics Ban and New Developments

Since 2020, the government had implemented a total prohibition on the sale and use of fireworks during Diwali due to their major role to the deadly smog that covers the city as winter sets in.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the newly elected regional leadership approached the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously questioned by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and public health".

Legal Verdict and Enforcement

Despite concerns of medical and ecological activists, judges agreed to the request, mandating that green firecrackers could be set off during limited time windows throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the metropolis, with little monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Many monitoring devices throughout the city recorded air quality reaching highest levels around midnight to some of the worst measurements recorded during celebrations in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing declining air quality in their urban centers on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Issue

The dangerously high concentrations of pollution in the capital have continued as a significant issue for fifteen-plus years, with the condition showing no improvement.

During the festival period, the levels of dangerous particulate matter in the environment has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the worst levels ever documented in the Chinese city, which was formerly viewed as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Various Pollution Sources

This crisis in the city is resulting from a mix of various sources including transportation pollution, construction debris, development work, garbage fires and smoke from farm burning in neighbouring areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, farmers illegally ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing toxic smog that then gets trapped over the city as cooler air sets in.

Medical and Financial Impact

Both financial and medical toll on the nearly 33 million people residing in the capital region is substantial, according to multiple investigations.

This pollution leads to increased incidence of nervous system, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Air quality crisis is projected to be accounting for 10,000 premature mortalities per year in the city.