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As Tuesday dawned citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves exposed to dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "severe" category.

Extremely High Air Quality Measurements

Various sections of Delhi recorded an air quality index above 500, which translates to ten times the safe level established by the global health authority.

Particular areas, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of eighteen hundred, equating to 15 to 20 times above healthy standards.

Fireworks Restrictions and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a total prohibition on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during celebrations due to their significant contribution to the dangerous pollution that blankets the city as winter begins.

However recently, the recently formed local leadership petitioned the highest court to request a modification of the ban.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – which have been questioned by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a compromise between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Legal Ruling and Reality

Much to the frustration of environmental and health activists, judges approved the appeal, specifying that green firecrackers could be used during limited hours throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was considerable disregard of the regulated periods across the metropolis, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Several air quality sensors throughout the capital recorded contamination reaching highest levels around the night hours to extremely hazardous readings observed during Diwali in at least recent memory.

International Consequences

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also initiated a dispute with neighbouring the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region partly blaming deteriorating pollution levels in their urban centers on contaminants originating in India following the events.

Persistent Environmental Issue

Extremely elevated concentrations of pollution in Delhi have remained as a major issue for more than 15 years, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

During Diwali, the amount of hazardous particles in the environment has been observed to increase dramatically to 70% higher the peak readings ever measured in China's capital, which was formerly regarded as the planet's dirtiest city.

Various Pollution Sources

This crisis in Delhi is caused by a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, development work, waste incineration and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, rural residents illegally ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, creating toxic smog that then gets trapped over the capital as cooler air arrives.

Medical and Financial Impact

Public health and economic toll on the nearly 33 million residents calling home the metropolitan zone is significant, according to multiple investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in elevated rates of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory disorders, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Air quality crisis is projected to be accounting for approximately 10k early fatalities annually in the city.