The megacity Rises to Hazardous Pollution Post Festival of Lights
As Tuesday dawned citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves breathing severely hazardous air that was classified as the "severe" level.
Extremely High Air Quality Levels
Various sections of the capital registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which equals 10x the healthy threshold set by the WHO.
In some locations, readings of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of eighteen hundred, representing 15 to 20 times exceeding acceptable levels.
Fireworks Ban and New Policy Shifts
For the past four years, officials had implemented a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the deadly smog that engulfs the metropolis as the cold season sets in.
Yet in recent months, the newly elected regional leadership approached the supreme court to seek a easing of the ban.
The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – previously criticized by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a balance between "heritage and public health".
Legal Ruling and Enforcement
To the disappointment of public health and environmental campaigners, judges agreed to the proposal, mandating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during designated periods throughout the celebrations.
On Monday night, there was extensive disregard of the regulated periods across the capital, with little enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener type.
Many air quality sensors throughout the capital recorded air quality peaking around the night hours to some of the worst readings observed during the festival in at least recent memory.
Regional Effects
The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also sparked a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to deteriorating pollution levels in Lahore on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the celebrations.
Long-Standing Pollution Problem
The dangerously high readings of air contamination in the city have continued as a serious issue for fifteen-plus years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.
Near celebratory seasons, the concentration of toxic particles in the air has been documented to spike to 70% higher the worst records ever documented in the Chinese city, which was formerly viewed as the planet's dirtiest urban center.
Multiple Contamination Contributors
The situation in the capital is attributed to a convergence of various sources including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, construction activities, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring areas of farming communities.
In these regions, agricultural workers routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating hazardous pollution that then gets trapped over the city as colder air arrives.
Public Health and Economic Toll
Public health and economic toll on the nearly 33 million inhabitants residing in the capital region is significant, according to multiple investigations.
The contaminated air causes high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and respiratory conditions, and can result in cancer.
The pollution is calculated to be responsible for ten thousand premature fatalities per year in the city.