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As Tuesday dawned citizens of the world's most polluted city found themselves breathing severely hazardous air that registered in the "severe" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Several parts of Delhi recorded an air quality index over 500, which represents a tenfold increase over the healthy limit recommended by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1,800, amounting to 15 to 20 times above healthy limits.

Pyrotechnics Ban and New Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of firecrackers during Diwali due to their major role to the dangerous pollution that engulfs the city as colder weather begins.

However recently, the newly elected city administration appealed to the judicial authority to request a modification of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "green crackers" – historically questioned by conservation groups as being only about 30% less polluting – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and environment".

Court Decision and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of environmental and health campaigners, judicial authorities agreed to the appeal, specifying that green firecrackers could be used during specific hours throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was extensive violation of the regulated periods across the city, with little monitoring regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Several recording stations throughout Delhi recorded contamination reaching highest levels around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements observed during celebrations in at least three years.

International Implications

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the festival also initiated a blame game with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani Punjab province pointing to deteriorating atmospheric conditions in Lahore on contaminants traveling from neighboring India following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated concentrations of air contamination in the capital have remained as a major challenge for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

During celebratory seasons, the amount of toxic particles in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to 70% higher the worst levels ever recorded in China's capital, which was formerly considered as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Multiple Pollution Contributors

The situation in Delhi is caused by a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, development work, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of Punjab and Haryana.

Throughout these areas, rural residents regularly set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, generating hazardous pollution that then gets trapped over the capital as cooler air sets in.

Medical and Economic Impact

The economic and health consequences on the roughly thirty-three million inhabitants living in the Delhi area is significant, according to numerous investigations.

The contaminated air causes high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

The pollution is calculated to be accounting for approximately 10k early deaths each year in the capital.