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As Tuesday dawned residents of the world's most polluted city were faced with inhaling dangerously toxic air that registered in the "alarming" range.

Alarming Pollution Readings

Various sections of Delhi showed an AQI above 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the healthy threshold set by the World Health Organization.

Particular areas, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of 1800, equating to fifteen to twenty times higher than acceptable limits.

Fireworks Ban and New Policy Shifts

For the past four years, the government had implemented a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during celebrations due to their major role to the hazardous smog that covers the capital as winter sets in.

Yet earlier this year, the recently formed city leadership petitioned the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been doubted by conservation groups as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a compromise between "tradition and environment".

Judicial Decision and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological advocates, the court complied with the proposal, stipulating that green firecrackers could be used during specific time windows throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread disregard of the designated hours across the city, with minimal monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Many recording stations throughout the city showed contamination reaching highest levels around midnight to some of the worst readings seen during celebrations in at least three years.

Regional Implications

The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also sparked a dispute with neighbouring the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani the Punjab region partially attributing worsening atmospheric conditions in their urban centers on hazardous particles originating in India following the events.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated levels of pollution in the city have continued as a major challenge for more than 15 years, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Near celebratory seasons, the concentration of dangerous particulate matter in the environment has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the worst levels ever documented in Beijing, which was once regarded as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Various Pollution Contributors

The situation in the capital is resulting from a mix of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, development work, rubbish burning and haze from crop residue ignition in neighbouring areas of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, agricultural workers regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, creating hazardous smog that remains stagnant over the city as winter air descends.

Medical and Financial Toll

Both financial and medical consequences on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the Delhi area is enormous, according to various studies.

This pollution leads to elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can result in oncological diseases.

The pollution is calculated to be causing ten thousand untimely fatalities each year in Delhi.