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Tuesday brought inhabitants of the world's most polluted city found themselves inhaling dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "critical" level.

Alarming Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of Delhi registered an air quality index exceeding 500, which represents 10x the safe limit established by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of toxic particulate matter hit highs of eighteen hundred, equating to 15 to 20 times exceeding healthy limits.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and New Developments

For the past four years, the government had implemented a complete ban on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous smog that engulfs the capital as winter sets in.

Yet recently, the recently formed local administration appealed to the highest court to propose a easing of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – previously questioned by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and public health".

Judicial Ruling and Implementation

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological advocates, the court complied with the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was extensive disregard of the time restrictions across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout Delhi showed contamination spiking around midnight to the most severe levels recorded during Diwali in at least the past three years.

International Effects

The widespread use of firecrackers during the festival also initiated a dispute with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region partially attributing worsening air quality in Lahore on contaminants traveling from neighboring India following the events.

Chronic Environmental Issue

Alarmingly severe concentrations of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have persisted as a major problem for over a decade and a half, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of hazardous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the worst levels ever measured in the Chinese city, which was previously considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Various Contamination Contributors

The problem in the capital is resulting from a combination of various sources including automobile exhaust, dust, development work, waste incineration and haze from crop residue ignition in neighbouring regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating hazardous haze that then gets trapped over the city as winter air arrives.

Public Health and Economic Consequences

The economic and health impact on the roughly thirty-three million inhabitants living in the capital region is enormous, according to multiple studies.

This pollution causes elevated rates of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung diseases, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be causing approximately 10k untimely deaths per year in the city.