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On Tuesday morning citizens of the planet's dirtiest urban center were faced with exposed to severely hazardous air that fell into the "critical" range.

Record-Breaking Pollution Measurements

Multiple areas of the capital showed an AQI exceeding 500, which translates to ten times the recommended threshold established by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, readings of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1800, equating to 15-20x above acceptable standards.

Pyrotechnics Restrictions and Recent Changes

For the past four years, the government had maintained a total prohibition on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the dangerous smog that blankets the city as the cold season sets in.

However earlier this year, the recently formed local government approached the supreme court to seek a easing of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically questioned by environmentalists as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a balance between "heritage and public health".

Judicial Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of medical and ecological advocates, the court approved the proposal, stipulating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be used during limited time windows throughout the festival.

On Monday night, there was widespread violation of the designated hours across the metropolis, with minimal enforcement regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the more environmentally friendly variety.

Many recording stations throughout the city recorded pollution spiking around the night hours to extremely hazardous measurements observed during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Regional Implications

The proliferation of pyrotechnics during Diwali also sparked a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab partly blaming deteriorating air quality in Lahore on contaminants coming from neighboring India following the festivities.

Persistent Pollution Issue

Alarmingly severe concentrations of atmospheric toxins in the city have continued as a serious problem for over a decade and a half, with the situation continuing to worsen.

Around celebratory seasons, the amount of toxic particles in the environment has been documented to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the most severe records ever measured in Beijing, which was once considered as the globally most contaminated metropolis.

Diverse Contamination Factors

The problem in Delhi is attributed to a mix of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, development work, garbage fires and pollutants from farm burning in neighbouring regions of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, agricultural workers illegally set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating toxic pollution that then gets trapped over the capital as cooler air sets in.

Health and Economic Toll

Public health and economic toll on the roughly thirty-three million inhabitants living in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to various studies.

These hazardous conditions results in high levels of neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and can potentially cause cancer.

The pollution is projected to be causing 10,000 premature fatalities per year in the capital.