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As Tuesday dawned residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center encountered inhaling severely hazardous air that was classified as the "severe" range.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of Delhi registered an AQI above 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the recommended level recommended by the WHO.

In some locations, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of 1,800, equating to 15 to 20 times above safe limits.

Fireworks Ban and New Developments

For the past four years, officials had implemented a complete ban on the sale and use of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the dangerous smog that engulfs the city as colder weather begins.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the newly elected local administration appealed to the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – historically doubted by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a compromise between "tradition and public health".

Legal Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of medical and ecological campaigners, judges complied with the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be used during limited hours throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread flouting of the designated hours across the city, with little enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout the city showed pollution peaking around midnight to some of the worst measurements seen during celebrations in at least recent memory.

Regional Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the celebrations also initiated a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province partially attributing deteriorating air quality in Lahore on contaminants originating in neighboring India following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Pollution Problem

The dangerously high readings of atmospheric toxins in the capital have persisted as a significant challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

Near celebratory seasons, the levels of hazardous particulate matter in the environment has been found to shoot up to significantly exceeding the peak readings ever documented in the Chinese city, which was formerly considered as the planet's dirtiest city.

Various Contamination Sources

The problem in Delhi is attributed to a convergence of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, development work, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers illegally set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, producing hazardous pollution that remains stagnant over the city as colder air sets in.

Medical and Financial Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the nearly 33 million residents residing in the capital region is enormous, according to multiple investigations.

These hazardous conditions causes high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and lung diseases, and can result in oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is calculated to be accounting for 10,000 untimely fatalities each year in Delhi.