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On Tuesday morning inhabitants of the world's most polluted city found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" category.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Readings

Several parts of the capital registered an air quality index over 500, which represents 10x the healthy threshold set by the global health authority.

In some locations, levels of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1800, equating to 15 to 20 times above healthy levels.

Fireworks Ban and Recent Changes

Beginning in 2020, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the deadly smog that blankets the city as the cold season sets in.

However recently, the recently formed local government approached the supreme court to request a modification of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a balance between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Judicial Verdict and Reality

Despite concerns of environmental and health campaigners, the court complied with the proposal, stipulating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during limited time windows throughout the Diwali.

During the celebrations, there was widespread disregard of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with little regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly type.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout the city registered pollution reaching highest levels around late evening to the most severe measurements recorded during the festival in at least recent memory.

International Consequences

The widespread use of fireworks during the celebrations also triggered a blame game with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani the Punjab region pointing to worsening atmospheric conditions in Lahore on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

The dangerously high levels of air contamination in the capital have persisted as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

Near celebratory seasons, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the environment has been observed to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the peak levels ever measured in Beijing, which was once regarded as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Multiple Contamination Sources

The situation in the capital is resulting from a convergence of different contributors including automobile exhaust, dust, development work, waste incineration and pollutants from crop residue ignition in nearby areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, farmers regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, creating dangerous haze that becomes contained over the city as cooler air sets in.

Health and Financial Impact

Both financial and medical toll on the approximately 33 million people calling home the metropolitan zone is significant, according to various studies.

These hazardous conditions causes high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

The pollution is estimated to be accounting for approximately 10k early fatalities each year in Delhi.