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Tuesday brought residents of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves exposed to extremely polluted air that fell into the "severe" range.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Various sections of Delhi recorded an air quality index over 500, which represents ten times the healthy limit established by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1,800, amounting to 15-20x above acceptable standards.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Recent Changes

Beginning in 2020, officials had implemented a total prohibition on the sale and use of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the deadly smog that blankets the metropolis as winter begins.

Yet recently, the newly elected city leadership petitioned the supreme court to seek a modification of the ban.

Officials advocated for allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – historically doubted by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a compromise between "tradition and environment".

Court Verdict and Implementation

To the disappointment of medical and ecological advocates, judicial authorities agreed to the appeal, specifying that green firecrackers could be used during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

During the celebrations, there was extensive violation of the regulated periods across the capital, with insufficient monitoring regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Many recording stations throughout the city recorded air quality reaching highest levels around late evening to the most severe levels recorded during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

The widespread use of firecrackers during the festival also sparked a dispute with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's the Punjab region pointing to deteriorating pollution levels in the city of Lahore on contaminants originating in across the border following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Problem

The dangerously high concentrations of pollution in the city have continued as a significant challenge for over a decade and a half, with the condition gradually deteriorating.

Around the festival period, the levels of dangerous particles in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to 70% higher the most severe readings ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was once regarded as the globally most contaminated urban center.

Multiple Contamination Factors

The problem in the city is caused by a mix of different contributors including automobile exhaust, dust, building projects, waste incineration and haze from crop residue ignition in adjacent areas of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, farmers routinely ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, creating toxic smog that becomes contained over the capital as colder air arrives.

Public Health and Economic Toll

The economic and health toll on the nearly 33 million people calling home the Delhi area is substantial, according to various studies.

The contaminated air leads to high levels of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can result in cancer.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be accounting for approximately 10k early mortalities per year in the capital.