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

Record-Breaking Pollution Levels

Several parts of the city showed an air quality index exceeding 500, which equals a tenfold increase over the healthy level recommended by the WHO.

Certain monitoring stations, readings of PM2.5 and PM10 soared to of eighteen hundred, amounting to fifteen to twenty times exceeding safe limits.

Firecracker Restrictions and Recent Policy Shifts

For the past four years, officials had enforced a comprehensive restriction on the purchase and ignition of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their significant contribution to the dangerous smog that blankets the metropolis as winter begins.

However recently, the newly elected regional government appealed to the supreme court to propose a relaxation of the ban.

The suggestion was allowing "eco-friendly fireworks" – historically criticized by environmentalists as being only about 30% reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "cultural practices and ecological concerns".

Legal Ruling and Enforcement

Much to the frustration of public health and environmental activists, judicial authorities complied with the request, mandating that green firecrackers could be set off during limited hours throughout the Diwali.

On Monday night, there was considerable violation of the designated hours across the city, with little regulation regarding whether the pyrotechnics being used were actually the supposedly greener variety.

Several recording stations throughout the city showed pollution peaking around the night hours to some of the worst measurements observed during the festival in at least three years.

Cross-Border Implications

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also triggered a blame game with neighbouring the neighboring country, with officials in Pakistani Punjab partially attributing worsening air quality in the city of Lahore on hazardous particles coming from India following the events.

Long-Standing Pollution Crisis

Extremely elevated levels of atmospheric toxins in the city have remained as a serious issue for more than 15 years, with the situation gradually deteriorating.

Near Diwali, the concentration of toxic airborne contaminants in the atmosphere has been observed to shoot up to significantly exceeding the worst records ever documented in China's capital, which was previously regarded as the planet's dirtiest urban center.

Various Contamination Contributors

The problem in Delhi is resulting from a mix of different contributors including transportation pollution, dust, development work, rubbish burning and smoke from agricultural fires in nearby states of farming communities.

Throughout these areas, agricultural workers illegally set their fields on fire to expedite field preparation, generating toxic smog that becomes contained over the capital as winter air descends.

Public Health and Financial Toll

Public health and economic consequences on the roughly thirty-three million people living in the capital region is significant, according to various research.

This pollution causes high levels of nervous system, cardiovascular and breathing disorders, and can even lead to malignancies.

Environmental contamination is projected to be responsible for 10,000 premature fatalities per year in the capital.