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As Tuesday dawned citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis found themselves exposed to severely hazardous air that fell into the "alarming" level.

Extremely High Pollution Readings

Several parts of Delhi registered an AQI exceeding 500, which equals ten times the recommended limit set by the World Health Organization.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of dangerous airborne particles hit highs of eighteen hundred, equating to fifteen to twenty times exceeding safe standards.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Recent Changes

For the past four years, the government had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of fireworks during celebrations due to their major role to the hazardous haze that covers the city as the cold season approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the newly elected city leadership petitioned the judicial authority to seek a relaxation of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "green crackers" – which have been questioned by environmentalists as being only about 30% less polluting – as a balance between "cultural practices and public health".

Court Verdict and Implementation

Despite concerns of environmental and health campaigners, the court agreed to the request, specifying that green firecrackers could be ignited during specific hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was widespread disregard of the time restrictions across the capital, with little regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Many air quality sensors throughout the city showed pollution reaching highest levels around late evening to the most severe measurements seen during Diwali in at least the past three years.

Regional Consequences

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the festival also triggered a controversy with bordering the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab pointing to deteriorating air quality in their urban centers on contaminants coming from across the border following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Pollution Problem

Alarmingly severe concentrations of air contamination in the city have continued as a serious challenge for over a decade and a half, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

During Diwali, the levels of dangerous particulate matter in the air has been documented to spike to significantly exceeding the peak readings ever recorded in Beijing, which was formerly considered as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Multiple Contamination Sources

The problem in Delhi is caused by a convergence of multiple factors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, building projects, garbage fires and pollutants from farm burning in neighbouring states of neighboring agricultural zones.

In these regions, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, creating hazardous pollution that becomes contained over the city as colder air sets in.

Medical and Economic Impact

Both financial and medical impact on the nearly 33 million people residing in the metropolitan zone is substantial, according to various investigations.

The contaminated air results in increased incidence of neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

Environmental contamination is projected to be accounting for 10,000 untimely mortalities per year in the city.