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As Tuesday dawned inhabitants of the planet's dirtiest urban center found themselves inhaling dangerously toxic air that fell into the "critical" level.

Extremely High Pollution Levels

Several parts of the city recorded an AQI over 500, which translates to a tenfold increase over the healthy level recommended by the global health authority.

Particular areas, readings of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1800, representing 15-20x above acceptable limits.

Pyrotechnics Ban and Current Changes

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their major role to the deadly haze that engulfs the capital as colder weather begins.

However in recent months, the newly elected city government approached the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the prohibition.

Officials advocated for allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically questioned by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third lower impact – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and public health".

Legal Decision and Enforcement

To the disappointment of environmental and health activists, judicial authorities agreed to the appeal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be used during specific time windows throughout the festival.

During the celebrations, there was widespread flouting of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with little regulation regarding whether the fireworks being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout Delhi showed pollution spiking around midnight to some of the worst measurements recorded during the festival in at least the past three years.

Regional Implications

The proliferation of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a dispute with adjacent Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistan's Punjab province partially attributing declining pollution levels in their urban centers on hazardous particles traveling from India following the events.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

Extremely elevated concentrations of pollution in the city have persisted as a significant challenge for more than 15 years, with the situation showing no improvement.

During the festival period, the amount of dangerous particulate matter in the environment has been found to shoot up to significantly exceeding the peak levels ever measured in China's capital, which was formerly viewed as the world's most polluted urban center.

Various Pollution Factors

The situation in the capital is attributed to a combination of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, airborne particles, building projects, rubbish burning and smoke from farm burning in adjacent states of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, agricultural workers routinely ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, creating dangerous haze that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as winter air descends.

Medical and Financial Consequences

Public health and economic toll on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to multiple investigations.

This pollution leads to increased incidence of nervous system, heart and circulatory and respiratory conditions, and can result in oncological diseases.

Air quality crisis is estimated to be accounting for 10,000 early mortalities annually in the city.