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Tuesday brought citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center encountered breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" category.

Extremely High Pollution Levels

Various sections of the capital registered an AQI exceeding 500, which equals 10x the healthy limit recommended by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of 1800, representing 15-20x higher than safe limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of firecrackers during celebrations due to their substantial impact to the deadly haze that covers the metropolis as winter begins.

Nevertheless recently, the newly elected regional leadership petitioned the judicial authority to propose a easing of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and public health".

Legal Ruling and Reality

Despite concerns of public health and environmental activists, judicial authorities agreed to the request, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during designated periods throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread violation of the regulated periods across the capital, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout Delhi recorded air quality peaking around late evening to extremely hazardous levels seen during celebrations in at least the past three years.

International Consequences

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's the Punjab region partly blaming worsening air quality in the city of Lahore on pollutants coming from neighboring India following the events.

Persistent Environmental Problem

The dangerously high readings of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a significant challenge for fifteen-plus years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Around the festival period, the concentration of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been documented to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the most severe records ever recorded in China's capital, which was previously considered as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Diverse Contamination Sources

The situation in the capital is attributed to a convergence of various sources including transportation pollution, dust, building projects, rubbish burning and smoke from farm burning in nearby regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers illegally ignite agricultural waste to expedite field preparation, producing toxic haze that remains stagnant over the city as cooler air descends.

Medical and Financial Consequences

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is enormous, according to various investigations.

This pollution results in high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can result in oncological diseases.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for 10,000 premature fatalities per year in the capital.