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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the world's most polluted city found themselves exposed to severely hazardous air that registered in the "critical" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings

Various sections of Delhi recorded an air quality index over 500, which equals 10x the healthy level recommended by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, equating to fifteen to twenty times exceeding acceptable limits.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Current Developments

For the past four years, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the hazardous pollution that engulfs the metropolis as winter begins.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the recently formed regional leadership appealed to the judicial authority to request a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been doubted by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a middle ground between "tradition and public health".

Judicial Verdict and Reality

Despite concerns of public health and environmental campaigners, judges agreed to the request, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

During the celebrations, there was considerable disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly type.

Several recording stations throughout Delhi registered pollution reaching highest levels around midnight to the most severe measurements recorded during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

Extensive ignition of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also triggered a dispute with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab pointing to worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles coming from neighboring India following the festivities.

Persistent Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated readings of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a serious issue for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Near celebratory seasons, the levels of toxic airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to seventy percent above the worst records ever measured in China's capital, which was previously viewed as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Contributors

The problem in the city is attributed to a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, building projects, waste incineration and smoke from crop residue ignition in neighbouring regions of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, rural residents regularly burn crop residue to prepare for next season, producing hazardous smog that then gets trapped over the capital as colder air sets in.

Medical and Financial Consequences

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million residents living in the capital region is enormous, according to various studies.

The contaminated air causes high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung conditions, and can result in cancer.

The pollution is calculated to be responsible for ten thousand untimely mortalities each year in the capital.