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As Tuesday dawned citizens of the world's most polluted city were faced with breathing dangerously toxic air that fell into the "alarming" range.

Extremely High Air Quality Readings

Several parts of Delhi showed an pollution measurement above 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the healthy threshold set by the global health authority.

Particular areas, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of 1,800, equating to fifteen to twenty times exceeding acceptable levels.

Firecracker Ban and New Changes

For the past four years, the government had enforced a complete ban on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during Diwali due to their major role to the dangerous pollution that engulfs the city as colder weather approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the recently formed city government petitioned the supreme court to propose a modification of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent lower impact – as a balance between "tradition and public health".

Legal Decision and Implementation

Much to the frustration of environmental and health campaigners, judges agreed to the appeal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during designated time windows throughout the celebrations.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with insufficient enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous recording stations throughout the capital showed contamination spiking around late evening to the most severe readings seen during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Implications

The proliferation of firecrackers during the celebrations also sparked a blame game with neighbouring Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistan's Punjab pointing to deteriorating air quality in their urban centers on pollutants coming from neighboring India following the festivities.

Chronic Pollution Problem

The dangerously high concentrations of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have persisted as a serious issue for fifteen-plus years, with the problem showing no improvement.

Around the festival period, the amount of toxic particulate matter in the environment has been found to shoot up to 70% higher the most severe records ever documented in the Chinese city, which was once considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Diverse Contamination Sources

This crisis in the capital is attributed to a mix of multiple factors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, building projects, garbage fires and haze from farm burning in adjacent regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, agricultural workers illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, producing toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as colder air sets in.

Health and Economic Toll

Both financial and medical impact on the approximately 33 million people calling home the metropolitan zone is significant, according to numerous research.

The contaminated air results in elevated rates of nervous system, heart and circulatory and lung disorders, and can result in malignancies.

The pollution is projected to be responsible for ten thousand early fatalities annually in the city.