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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves exposed to severely hazardous air that fell into the "severe" level.

Record-Breaking Pollution Measurements

Multiple areas of Delhi showed an air quality index above 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the healthy threshold established by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, levels of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1,800, representing 15 to 20 times higher than acceptable standards.

Firecracker Ban and New Changes

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the deadly haze that blankets the metropolis as the cold season sets in.

Yet recently, the newly elected regional leadership approached the highest court to seek a relaxation of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously doubted by environmentalists as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Reality

Much to the frustration of public health and environmental advocates, judicial authorities agreed to the appeal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited periods throughout the festival.

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

Several monitoring devices throughout Delhi recorded contamination spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous readings recorded during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Effects

The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a controversy with neighbouring the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in their urban centers on pollutants originating in India following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Problem

Extremely elevated concentrations of pollution in the capital have persisted as a major challenge for more than 15 years, with the situation showing no improvement.

Around the festival period, the concentration of toxic particles in the environment has been found to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the worst readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously viewed as the planet's dirtiest city.

Diverse Pollution Contributors

The problem in the city is attributed to a mix of multiple factors including transportation pollution, airborne particles, development work, waste incineration and smoke from farm burning in neighbouring regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, farmers routinely ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing hazardous pollution that remains stagnant over the city as winter air descends.

Public Health and Financial Consequences

Both financial and medical consequences on the nearly 33 million people residing in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to multiple investigations.

This pollution leads to elevated rates of neurological, cardiovascular and breathing conditions, and can even lead to cancer.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be responsible for approximately 10k untimely mortalities per year in the capital.