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Tuesday brought citizens of the world's most polluted city found themselves exposed to extremely polluted air that was classified as the "alarming" range.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Several parts of Delhi registered an AQI over 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the recommended level set by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, levels of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1,800, amounting to 15-20x exceeding healthy levels.

Fireworks Restrictions and Current Developments

For the past four years, officials had maintained a complete ban on the sale and use of firecrackers during celebrations due to their significant contribution to the hazardous smog that engulfs the metropolis as the cold season approaches.

However earlier this year, the current regional government appealed to the supreme court to seek a easing of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – previously criticized by conservation groups as being only about 30% lower impact – as a compromise between "tradition and environment".

Judicial Ruling and Implementation

To the disappointment of public health and environmental activists, the court agreed to the proposal, mandating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during specific periods throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive flouting of the designated hours across the city, with minimal regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Many recording stations throughout the city showed pollution spiking around late evening to some of the worst readings recorded during the festival in at least recent memory.

Regional Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the celebrations also triggered a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab province partly blaming declining pollution levels in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles originating in across the border following the events.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high readings of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a serious problem for over a decade and a half, with the problem showing no improvement.

Near the festival period, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been documented to spike to seventy percent above the worst readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was formerly viewed as the world's most polluted city.

Various Pollution Factors

This crisis in the capital is resulting from a combination of different contributors including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, building projects, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in neighbouring regions of farming communities.

In these regions, farmers regularly burn crop residue to clear them quickly, producing hazardous smog that remains stagnant over the metropolitan area as winter air descends.

Medical and Financial Impact

The economic and health toll on the approximately 33 million inhabitants residing in the Delhi area is significant, according to multiple investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and respiratory disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be accounting for approximately 10k premature mortalities each year in Delhi.