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On Tuesday morning citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves exposed to extremely polluted air that was classified as the "severe" range.

Record-Breaking Pollution Readings

Multiple areas of the city recorded an AQI over 500, which translates to 10x the safe level established by the WHO.

Particular areas, levels of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of 1800, equating to 15-20x above healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and New Policy Shifts

Beginning in 2020, officials had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their significant contribution to the deadly pollution that covers the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

Yet in recent months, the newly elected city leadership appealed to the highest court to request a modification of the ban.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Legal Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological campaigners, judges approved the appeal, specifying that green firecrackers could be set off during limited time windows throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable violation of the time restrictions across the city, with little regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout Delhi recorded pollution reaching highest levels around the night hours to extremely hazardous readings seen during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also initiated a controversy with adjacent Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani the Punjab region pointing to worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on contaminants originating in neighboring India following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Pollution Problem

Alarmingly severe levels of atmospheric toxins in the city have continued as a serious problem for more than 15 years, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

Near Diwali, the levels of hazardous particulate matter in the environment has been found to shoot up to seventy percent above the worst records ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Diverse Pollution Sources

This crisis in the city is attributed to a combination of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, development work, garbage fires and smoke from farm burning in neighbouring areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, agricultural workers routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, producing toxic haze that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as colder air arrives.

Medical and Economic Consequences

Both financial and medical toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants calling home the Delhi area is significant, according to numerous studies.

This pollution leads to high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause cancer.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be accounting for 10,000 premature fatalities each year in the city.