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As Tuesday dawned citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with breathing extremely polluted air that was classified as the "critical" level.

Extremely High Air Quality Measurements

Various sections of Delhi showed an pollution measurement above 500, which equals ten times the healthy level established by the World Health Organization.

In some locations, concentrations of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1,800, amounting to fifteen to twenty times above healthy standards.

Pyrotechnics Prohibition and Current Policy Shifts

For the past four years, authorities had maintained a comprehensive restriction on the distribution and bursting of pyrotechnics during Diwali due to their major role to the dangerous smog that covers the capital as winter sets in.

However recently, the recently formed local leadership petitioned the judicial authority to propose a easing of the restrictions.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – historically criticized by environmental experts as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a balance between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Ruling and Implementation

To the disappointment of environmental and health campaigners, judicial authorities approved the appeal, specifying that green firecrackers could be used during limited hours throughout the festival.

Throughout the festival evening, there was considerable flouting of the time restrictions across the metropolis, with little enforcement regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the eco-friendly version.

Several air quality sensors throughout Delhi recorded pollution peaking around late evening to some of the worst levels observed during Diwali in at least recent memory.

International Consequences

Extensive ignition of fireworks during Diwali also initiated a controversy with neighbouring Pakistan, with officials in Pakistani the Punjab region partly blaming deteriorating air quality in Lahore on contaminants coming from across the border following the festivities.

Chronic Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high concentrations of air contamination in Delhi have persisted as a serious problem for fifteen-plus years, with the problem gradually deteriorating.

Around Diwali, the levels of dangerous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been observed to spike to seventy percent above the peak records ever recorded in the Chinese city, which was formerly viewed as the world's most polluted metropolis.

Various Pollution Factors

The problem in the city is caused by a mix of various sources including heavy vehicle emissions, airborne particles, construction activities, garbage fires and pollutants from farm burning in adjacent regions of farming communities.

In these regions, rural residents routinely burn crop residue to expedite field preparation, generating dangerous pollution that then gets trapped over the metropolitan area as cooler air sets in.

Medical and Economic Toll

Public health and economic toll on the nearly 33 million people calling home the Delhi area is significant, according to various studies.

This pollution causes increased incidence of neurological, heart and circulatory and breathing conditions, and can even lead to oncological diseases.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be accounting for 10,000 premature fatalities each year in Delhi.