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Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city were faced with exposed to extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" range.

Alarming Air Quality Readings

Multiple areas of Delhi recorded an AQI over 500, which equals ten times the safe limit set by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, readings of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times higher than healthy standards.

Fireworks Ban and New Developments

For the past four years, authorities had enforced a total prohibition on the sale and use of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the hazardous pollution that covers the city as winter approaches.

Nevertheless recently, the recently formed regional administration petitioned the supreme court to request a modification of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Judicial Decision and Enforcement

To the disappointment of medical and ecological activists, the court complied with the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be set off during specific periods throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was widespread violation of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Several recording stations throughout Delhi showed pollution spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Effects

The widespread use of fireworks during the celebrations also initiated a controversy with adjacent Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region partly blaming declining pollution levels in Lahore on pollutants coming from India following the celebrations.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the city have persisted as a serious issue for fifteen-plus years, with the problem showing no improvement.

During the festival period, the amount of dangerous particulate matter in the air has been observed to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the worst records ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously considered as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Diverse Contamination Sources

This crisis in the capital is attributed to a combination of multiple factors including transportation pollution, construction debris, construction activities, rubbish burning and smoke from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, farmers illegally set their fields on fire to clear them quickly, generating toxic smog that then gets trapped over the city as colder air sets in.

Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the capital region is significant, according to numerous studies.

The contaminated air causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can even lead to cancer.

Environmental contamination is projected to be causing 10,000 premature mortalities each year in the city.