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Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city found themselves inhaling extremely polluted air that fell into the "severe" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of the capital registered an pollution measurement over 500, which translates to 10x the healthy level recommended by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times above safe limits.

Fireworks Prohibition and New Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had maintained a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during celebrations due to their major role to the hazardous pollution that blankets the metropolis as colder weather approaches.

However in recent months, the current city administration approached the highest court to propose a easing of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and environment".

Judicial Verdict and Implementation

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological activists, judicial authorities complied with the proposal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during limited hours throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was widespread violation of the regulated periods across the city, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Several recording stations throughout the capital registered pollution peaking around the night hours to the most severe levels observed during the festival in at least three years.

International Implications

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region partially attributing declining pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles originating in neighboring India following the festivities.

Chronic Pollution Problem

The dangerously high concentrations of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have remained as a serious problem for fifteen-plus years, with the problem showing no improvement.

During celebratory seasons, the levels of hazardous particles in the atmosphere has been found to spike to significantly exceeding the peak readings ever recorded in China's capital, which was once regarded as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Various Contamination Contributors

The situation in Delhi is attributed to a convergence of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, construction activities, garbage fires and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, rural residents regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous smog that then gets trapped over the city as winter air descends.

Medical and Financial Consequences

Both financial and medical toll on the nearly 33 million inhabitants living in the Delhi area is enormous, according to numerous research.

These hazardous conditions leads to increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can result in oncological diseases.

The pollution is estimated to be responsible for 10,000 early fatalities annually in the city.