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On Tuesday morning residents of the world's most polluted city found themselves exposed to dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "critical" category.

Extremely High Pollution Measurements

Various sections of the city showed an AQI above 500, which translates to ten times the safe level established by the WHO.

Particular areas, concentrations of dangerous airborne particles reached peaks of 1800, equating to 15-20x above safe levels.

Fireworks Prohibition and New Policy Shifts

For the past four years, the government had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of firecrackers during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the dangerous smog that covers the capital as the cold season approaches.

However in recent months, the current regional government approached the supreme court to propose a relaxation of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmental experts as being only roughly 30 percent reduced emissions – as a balance between "tradition and environment".

Legal Verdict and Reality

Despite concerns of environmental and health advocates, the court complied with the appeal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be ignited during specific time windows throughout the celebrations.

During the celebrations, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the city, with little enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Several monitoring devices throughout the capital recorded air quality spiking around late evening to extremely hazardous measurements seen during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Regional Implications

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also initiated a controversy with neighbouring the neighboring country, with representatives in Pakistani Punjab partially attributing deteriorating pollution levels in Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from across the border following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Environmental Problem

Extremely elevated levels of atmospheric toxins in Delhi have continued as a significant challenge for more than 15 years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

During Diwali, the amount of hazardous airborne contaminants in the air has been found to increase dramatically to 70% higher the peak levels ever recorded in Beijing, which was formerly viewed as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Diverse Contamination Sources

The problem in the city is caused by a mix of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, construction debris, construction activities, rubbish burning and pollutants from agricultural fires in neighbouring states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, rural residents routinely ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, producing hazardous smog that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as colder air sets in.

Medical and Economic Impact

Public health and economic impact on the approximately 33 million residents calling home the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to numerous studies.

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

The pollution is calculated to be responsible for ten thousand untimely mortalities per year in the city.