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

Record-Breaking Air Quality Levels

Multiple areas of the capital registered an AQI over 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the recommended threshold recommended by the global health authority.

Particular areas, levels of PM2.5 and PM10 reached peaks of eighteen hundred, equating to 15-20x above healthy levels.

Fireworks Prohibition and Current Changes

For the past four years, officials had maintained a total prohibition on the purchase and ignition of fireworks during the Festival of Lights due to their major role to the hazardous smog that covers the capital as winter begins.

Nevertheless recently, the newly elected local leadership approached the judicial authority to propose a relaxation of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "environmentally conscious pyrotechnics" – which have been questioned by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a compromise between "cultural practices and public health".

Judicial Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of medical and ecological advocates, the court approved the proposal, specifying that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be set off during specific periods throughout the Diwali.

During the celebrations, there was considerable flouting of the time restrictions across the capital, with minimal regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the supposedly greener type.

Numerous monitoring devices throughout the city registered air quality peaking around late evening to the most severe readings seen during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Consequences

The widespread use of firecrackers during the celebrations also sparked a blame game with bordering Pakistan, with officials in Pakistan's Punjab partially attributing worsening atmospheric conditions in the city of Lahore on contaminants traveling from across the border following the celebrations.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

Alarmingly severe readings of air contamination in Delhi have remained as a major problem for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Near Diwali, the concentration of toxic particles in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to 70% higher the most severe records ever recorded in China's capital, which was once regarded as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Pollution Sources

This crisis in the city is resulting from a convergence of different contributors including transportation pollution, airborne particles, development work, waste incineration and smoke from farm burning in neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana.

Within these states, farmers illegally burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, producing toxic haze that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as cooler air sets in.

Health and Economic Impact

The economic and health impact on the nearly 33 million residents living in the metropolitan zone is significant, according to multiple investigations.

These hazardous conditions results in high levels of nervous system, heart and circulatory and breathing disorders, and can potentially cause cancer.

The pollution is projected to be accounting for approximately 10k early mortalities each year in Delhi.