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On Tuesday morning citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with exposed to severely hazardous air that was classified as the "alarming" category.

Extremely High Pollution Measurements

Various sections of the city registered an AQI over 500, which translates to 10x the healthy limit established by the WHO.

Particular areas, concentrations of toxic particulate matter soared to of eighteen hundred, representing fifteen to twenty times exceeding acceptable levels.

Fireworks Ban and New Changes

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the hazardous haze that engulfs the metropolis as winter sets in.

However earlier this year, the current regional administration petitioned the supreme court to propose a modification of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by conservation groups as being only about 30% lower impact – as a compromise between "cultural practices and public health".

Judicial Decision and Implementation

To the disappointment of medical and ecological campaigners, judges approved the proposal, specifying that green firecrackers could be used during specific time windows throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the metropolis, with little enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Several recording stations throughout the city registered pollution spiking around late evening to extremely hazardous levels observed during the festival in at least recent memory.

International Consequences

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also sparked a blame game with adjacent the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to worsening pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants coming from across the border following the events.

Chronic Pollution Crisis

Alarmingly severe readings of pollution in Delhi have continued as a serious problem for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the air has been found to shoot up to 70% higher the worst records ever documented in the Chinese city, which was previously regarded as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

The problem in Delhi is attributed to a combination of various sources including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, building projects, waste incineration and smoke from crop residue ignition in nearby areas of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, farmers illegally burn crop residue to clear them quickly, generating toxic pollution that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as cooler air descends.

Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic impact on the approximately 33 million inhabitants living in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to multiple studies.

These hazardous conditions causes increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory conditions, and can potentially cause malignancies.

The pollution is projected to be responsible for approximately 10k untimely deaths per year in the city.