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As Tuesday dawned residents of the world's most polluted city were faced with inhaling dangerously toxic air that was classified as the "severe" category.

Alarming Pollution Measurements

Multiple areas of Delhi recorded an air quality index above 500, which translates to 10x the healthy level established by the global health authority.

Certain monitoring stations, concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 hit highs of eighteen hundred, representing fifteen to twenty times above healthy levels.

Pyrotechnics Ban and New Changes

For the past four years, authorities had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during Diwali due to their substantial impact to the dangerous haze that engulfs the capital as colder weather approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the current regional leadership petitioned the supreme court to seek a relaxation of the restrictions.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically doubted by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third less polluting – as a compromise between "heritage and environment".

Legal Decision and Enforcement

Despite concerns of environmental and health campaigners, the court agreed to the appeal, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during specific time windows throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was widespread disregard of the regulated periods across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the eco-friendly variety.

Many air quality sensors throughout the city showed pollution spiking around late evening to extremely hazardous measurements recorded during the festival in at least three years.

Regional Implications

The widespread use of pyrotechnics during the celebrations also sparked a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province partly blaming deteriorating air quality in their urban centers on hazardous particles traveling from neighboring India following the celebrations.

Persistent Pollution Issue

Alarmingly severe concentrations of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a serious problem for fifteen-plus years, with the problem continuing to worsen.

During the festival period, the levels of dangerous airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been found to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the worst readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was previously regarded as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Various Contamination Contributors

The situation in Delhi is resulting from a mix of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, dust, construction activities, garbage fires and haze from crop residue ignition in neighbouring states of neighboring agricultural zones.

Within these states, rural residents illegally ignite agricultural waste to prepare for next season, producing hazardous haze that remains stagnant over the capital as winter air sets in.

Public Health and Economic Consequences

The economic and health impact on the nearly 33 million residents calling home the capital region is substantial, according to multiple research.

These hazardous conditions causes elevated rates of neurological, cardiovascular and lung disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for 10,000 early deaths per year in Delhi.