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As Tuesday dawned citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with exposed to extremely polluted air that was classified as the "alarming" category.

Alarming Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of the city recorded an pollution measurement above 500, which translates to 10x the safe level set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, readings of toxic particulate matter soared to of 1,800, equating to fifteen to twenty times higher than healthy standards.

Fireworks Restrictions and Recent Developments

For the past four years, the government had maintained a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous haze that engulfs the city as winter sets in.

Yet in recent months, the current regional government approached the highest court to seek a easing of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – previously questioned by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and public health".

Legal Verdict and Implementation

Despite concerns of public health and environmental activists, the court agreed to the appeal, specifying that green firecrackers could be set off during specific periods throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was extensive flouting of the regulated periods across the capital, with little enforcement regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout Delhi recorded pollution peaking around midnight to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during the festival in at least three years.

Regional Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani the Punjab region partially attributing worsening atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on pollutants coming from across the border following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

Alarmingly severe levels of air contamination in the capital have remained as a significant issue for more than 15 years, with the problem continuing to worsen.

Around celebratory seasons, the concentration of dangerous particles in the air has been found to spike to significantly exceeding the peak readings ever documented in Beijing, which was previously viewed as the planet's dirtiest city.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

The problem in Delhi is resulting from a mix of various sources including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, development work, waste incineration and smoke from farm burning in adjacent regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, rural residents illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, creating dangerous pollution that then gets trapped over the city as colder air arrives.

Medical and Economic Impact

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million residents living in the Delhi area is significant, according to multiple research.

The contaminated air results in increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can potentially cause malignancies.

Environmental contamination is calculated to be causing 10,000 untimely deaths per year in the city.