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On Tuesday morning residents of the world's most polluted city found themselves breathing extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" level.

Record-Breaking Air Quality Measurements

Multiple areas of the capital registered an air quality index above 500, which represents ten times the safe level set by the WHO.

Particular areas, readings of toxic particulate matter hit highs of 1800, representing fifteen to twenty times exceeding acceptable standards.

Fireworks Prohibition and Current Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a complete ban on the distribution and bursting of firecrackers during celebrations due to their significant contribution to the hazardous haze that covers the city as colder weather approaches.

Nevertheless in recent months, the current city government petitioned the supreme court to propose a easing of the ban.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – historically questioned by conservation groups as being only roughly 30 percent less polluting – as a balance between "heritage and ecological concerns".

Legal Ruling and Implementation

Despite concerns of public health and environmental campaigners, judges approved the proposal, mandating that environmentally conscious fireworks could be set off during specific hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was extensive disregard of the regulated periods across the capital, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener version.

Numerous recording stations throughout the city recorded contamination peaking around midnight to extremely hazardous levels recorded during the festival in at least recent memory.

International Effects

Extensive ignition of firecrackers during the celebrations also initiated a controversy with adjacent Pakistan, with representatives in Pakistani the Punjab region pointing to worsening atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on contaminants coming from neighboring India following the events.

Persistent Pollution Problem

The dangerously high levels of atmospheric toxins in the capital have continued as a significant problem for over a decade and a half, with the situation continuing to worsen.

Near the festival period, the concentration of toxic airborne contaminants in the air has been documented to increase dramatically to seventy percent above the worst records ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly considered as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Diverse Contamination Factors

The situation in the capital is caused by a convergence of different contributors including heavy vehicle emissions, dust, development work, rubbish burning and smoke from crop residue ignition in neighbouring regions of neighboring agricultural zones.

Throughout these areas, rural residents routinely set their fields on fire to prepare for next season, generating hazardous haze that then gets trapped over the capital as cooler air sets in.

Health and Financial Impact

The economic and health consequences on the approximately 33 million residents residing in the Delhi area is substantial, according to numerous studies.

These hazardous conditions causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and lung conditions, and can result in cancer.

Air quality crisis is projected to be causing ten thousand early mortalities each year in Delhi.