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Tuesday brought citizens of this heavily contaminated metropolis were faced with inhaling extremely polluted air that registered in the "severe" category.

Alarming Air Quality Measurements

Various sections of Delhi showed an AQI over 500, which equals 10x the healthy threshold set by the WHO.

In some locations, levels of toxic particulate matter reached peaks of 1,800, representing fifteen to twenty times above healthy limits.

Firecracker Ban and Current Developments

For the past four years, officials had implemented a comprehensive restriction on the sale and use of fireworks during celebrations due to their major role to the deadly haze that covers the city as colder weather sets in.

However in recent months, the recently formed regional leadership approached the judicial authority to seek a modification of the prohibition.

They proposed allowing "green crackers" – which have been criticized by conservation groups as being only approximately one-third reduced emissions – as a middle ground between "tradition and ecological concerns".

Court Decision and Reality

To the disappointment of public health and environmental campaigners, judicial authorities approved the request, mandating that eco-friendly pyrotechnics could be ignited during specific time windows throughout the celebrations.

On Monday night, there was considerable disregard of the designated hours across the city, with insufficient regulation regarding whether the firecrackers being used were actually the more environmentally friendly version.

Numerous air quality sensors throughout the capital showed air quality reaching highest levels around late evening to some of the worst measurements observed during celebrations in at least the past three years.

Cross-Border Effects

Extensive ignition of fireworks during the festival also initiated a blame game with bordering the neighboring country, with authorities in Pakistani Punjab province partly blaming deteriorating pollution levels in Lahore on hazardous particles traveling from India following the celebrations.

Long-Standing Environmental Crisis

The dangerously high concentrations of air contamination in the capital have remained as a significant problem for more than 15 years, with the condition continuing to worsen.

Around the festival period, the levels of hazardous particulate matter in the atmosphere has been observed to increase dramatically to significantly exceeding the peak records ever documented in the Chinese city, which was formerly viewed as the planet's dirtiest metropolis.

Various Pollution Factors

The situation in the capital is resulting from a mix of different contributors including automobile exhaust, construction debris, construction activities, waste incineration and haze from farm burning in nearby states of Punjab and Haryana.

In these regions, agricultural workers illegally ignite agricultural waste to clear them quickly, generating hazardous pollution that becomes contained over the metropolitan area as winter air arrives.

Medical and Economic Impact

The economic and health impact on the roughly thirty-three million people living in the capital region is significant, according to various studies.

The contaminated air leads to elevated rates of neurological, cardiovascular and lung diseases, and can result in malignancies.

Environmental contamination is estimated to be causing ten thousand early deaths each year in the city.