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Tuesday brought residents of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" category.

Alarming Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of the city recorded an air quality index above 500, which equals 10x the recommended level recommended by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter soared to of eighteen hundred, equating to 15-20x above safe limits.

Firecracker Prohibition and Recent Developments

For the past four years, officials had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their substantial impact to the deadly pollution that engulfs the capital as the cold season begins.

Nevertheless earlier this year, the newly elected city government petitioned the highest court to request a easing of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – which have been questioned by conservation groups as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a compromise between "tradition and environment".

Judicial Verdict and Reality

Much to the frustration of environmental and health advocates, judicial authorities complied with the request, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during designated hours throughout the Diwali.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable violation of the regulated periods across the capital, with little monitoring regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Several recording stations throughout the capital showed pollution reaching highest levels around midnight to the most severe readings observed during celebrations in at least three years.

International Effects

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also triggered a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab partially attributing declining pollution levels in Lahore on pollutants traveling from across the border following the events.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high levels of air contamination in the city have remained as a major challenge for more than 15 years, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

During the festival period, the levels of hazardous particles in the atmosphere has been observed to spike to significantly exceeding the peak readings ever measured in the Chinese city, which was once viewed as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Contributors

The problem in Delhi is resulting from a convergence of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, building projects, rubbish burning and pollutants from crop residue ignition in adjacent states of farming communities.

Within these states, farmers routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, creating toxic haze that remains stagnant over the city as cooler air descends.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic impact on the approximately 33 million residents living in the Delhi area is enormous, according to various investigations.

This pollution causes increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and respiratory diseases, and can potentially cause oncological diseases.

The pollution is calculated to be accounting for 10,000 early deaths per year in the city.